File photo of Mukhtar Ansari
Mukhtar Ansari, the jailed mafia don who heads the Qaumi Ekta Manch, today declared his support to Ajay Rai, the candidate fielded by the Congress in Varanasi as its challenger to
Narendra Modi.
Ansari is one of the accused in the murder of Ajay Rai's brother, Avdhesh. In local politics, the Congress nominee and Ansari are considered sworn rivals, but they have decided to set aside their differences for a while to take on the challenge posed by the BJP's prime ministerial nominee.
Contesting as a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate from Varanasi in 2009, Ansari had lost very narrowly to former BJP president Murli Manohar Joshi. Rai, who was then a nominee of the Samajwadi party, was relegated to the third spot. (
Elections: full coverage)
On April 10, Ansari announced that he will not be contesting from Varanasi in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls "to prevent a split in secular votes." There was speculation that the Qaumi Ekta Manch leader would back Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, but he eventually decided to support the candidature of the Congress nominee.
"A few days back, Mukhtar had announced that
he will not be contesting from Varanasi, and appealed to all the parties to put up a common candidate. But our advice went unheeded. After holding consultations with supporters, we have decided to back the Congress candidate, Ajay Rai," Ansari's brother Afzal told newspersons in Varanasi today. (
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The Qaumi Ekta Manch's decision is certain to come as a shot in the arm for the Congress nominee as Ansari commands a lot of following among the Muslims in the region. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, he had polled 1.85 lakh votes, and was only marginally behind Dr Joshi, who secured 2.03 lakh votes. Rai had managed to garner 1.23 lakh votes.
Varanasi goes to polls on May 12, the last phase of polling. (
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