Mukhtar rules out merger with SP but says alliance is possible

LUCKNOW: Gangster-turnedpolitician Mukhtar Ansari on Tuesday ruled out merger of his Qaumi Ekta Dal (QED) with the Samajwadi Party (SP) but said an alliance was possible with the ruling party in 2017 assembly elections.

The legislator from Mau, who is lodged in Agra jail and was brought to Lucknow to attend the UP assembly session here on Tuesday, met chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who had called off QEDs merger with the SP in June this year.

Mukhtar later told media persons that he met the CM to apprise him of the flood situation in his area.

“Nothing more should be read in my meeting. UP would vote for a new government early next year. All decisions related to poll alliance would be taken by my brother Afzal Ansari (who is president of QED),” said Mukhtar.

He also met for over half-an hour PWD Minister Shivpal Yadav, who had played a key role in brokering the alliance.

The decision had created a rift within the Yadav family and CM Akhilesh Yadav had even sacked his cabinet minister Balram Yadav for facilitating the merger.

In an obvious damage-control move, Shivpal Yadav had clarified that merger with QED was limited to Mukhtar’s two legislator brothers and the former (Mukhtar) was not taken into the SP fold.

But the alliance was shelved by Akhilesh Yadav, who is also state president of the SP.

Sources, however, say that despite resistance from Akhilesh, the two parties might come together in “some kind of electoral understanding” for the purpose of preventing the division of Muslim votes.