The minister Balram Yadav, one of the founding members of the Samajwadi Party and an influential leader of east UP, had managed the merger of the Qaumi Ekta Dal of mafia don Mukhtar Ansari who has been in jail for the murder of a BJP MLC.
An angry UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav axed a senior minister of his cabinet for engineering the merger of a political party headed by a mafia don despite his stiff opposition to the idea.
The minister Balram Yadav, one of the founding members of the Samajwadi Party and an influential leader of east UP, had managed the merger of the Qaumi Ekta Dal of mafia don Mukhtar Ansari who has been in jail for the murder of a BJP MLC. The move promises to smear Akhilesh Yadav who has been at pains to cultivate the image of a young and dynamic leader who does not patronise money or muscle power. Such a taint before the state assembly election could cost him dear in political terms.
The merger of the Qaumi Ekta Dal, ostensibly with an eye on the Muslim vote bank in east UP, was announced by Akhilesh's uncle and senior cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav. Akhilesh stayed away from the function where Mukhtar Ansari's brothers Sibkatullah, an independent MLA, and Afzal Ansari, a former SP MP, were present.
Shivpal came up with a rather lame excuse when the media grilled him about the mafia don, saying no decision had been taken on Mukhtar Ansari joining the SP. Sources said Akhilesh was livid on being told that the merger had been solemnised despite his vocal opposition at the party forum.
Opposition parties were quick to pounce on the opportunity. "Who are they trying to fool?" asked BJP spokesperson Vijay Pathak, adding that joining hands with Mukhtar Ansari's party clearly showed SP was willing to patronise criminals for petty vote bank politics.
Earlier, Akhilesh had earned kudos for putting his foot down to stop mafia don DP Yadav from joining the SP. The state's information department is reported to be preparing to spend close to Rs 500 crore for the CM's image makeover before the upcoming election. The latest unseemly episode is sure to blunt any such efforts in a big way.
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