SBSP to Contest Mau By-Election Following Disqualification of MLA Abbas Ansari

The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) announced on Monday its intention to contest the forthcoming by-election in Mau. This comes after Abbas Ansari, a party MLA, was disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly due to a hate speech conviction. Ansari, who is the son of notorious gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, had secured the Mau Sadar assembly seat in 2022 under the SBSP ticket as part of the Samajwadi Party-led alliance. However, a special court recently sentenced him to two years in prison, resulting in the vacancy of his legislative seat.

The SBSP, which has now become an ally of the ruling BJP government, is asserting its claim to contest from the newly vacated seat. "This was our seat. It was fought on our symbol," stated SBSP Chief Om Prakash Rajbhar during a press briefing. Under the Representation of the People Act, an MLA's membership is terminated if sentenced to two years or more in prison.

Despite the disqualification of Ansari, the SBSP will continue to have five representatives in the 403-member UP Legislative Assembly. Meanwhile, Rajbhar revealed that discussions with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are underway regarding the direct election of district panchayat chairmen and block heads to curb the influence of money and muscle power in the electoral process.

(With inputs from agencies.)