Mafias Find Mention In Election Speeches As Ghazipur Becomes A Hot Seat With High-Profile Campaigning

Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav campaigned for INDI Alliance candidate Afzal Ansari in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur on Monday (27 May).

He claimed that the "big leaders coming from Delhi and Lucknow are trembling (in fear) seeing the massive support that the SP is receiving from the enthusiastic people of Ghazipur."

This comes after UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held two rallies in Ghazipur consecutively for two days. On 25 May, he came here with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi said that people don't want mafias, instead development and mentioned projects like Purvanchal expressway, railway station developments and medical college in Ghazipur.

BJP ally, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party's (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar was also present on the stage with PM Modi and CM Adityanath.

A day later on 26 May, Adityanath campaigned alone by mentioning "bulldozer justice" and the elimination of mafias in the state, unlike freedom given to them in previous regimes.

This comes in the backdrop that Afzal Ansari is the brother of late gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari. He won the Ghazipur seat on a Bhaujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket in 2019 and is the SP candidate now.

He draws his ancestry from Brigadier Usman, targeting which Adityanath said, "This mafia family is not related to Brigadier Usman. This is a white lie. It is like SP saying that they built Ram Mandir."

Prior to that, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav had campaigned in Ghazipur on 19 May. He claimed that this election is for gau mata (Cow Goddess) and Ganga river.

Ghazipur is set to vote on 1 June in the last phase of Lok Sabha elections. BJP candidate here is Paras Nath Rai, who comes from an RSS background and is making his electoral debut.