Money and muscle power have always been an integral part of politics — thanks to the aura of ‘winnability’ that the ‘bahubalis’ (musclemen) carry.

For political parties in Uttar Pradesh, this factor outweighs all others in the victory arithmetic.

That is why this time too, musclemen and their kin are making their presence felt in the state during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections spanning seven phases.

Be it history-sheeter Bal Kumar Patel (brother of the dreaded slain brigand of Bundelkhand region ‘Dadua’ alias Shiv Kumar Patel), jailed mafioso-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s brother Afzal Ansari or Lucknow’s listed history sheeter Arun Shankar Shukla, all are flexing their muscles in the poll arena representing different political parties.

These strongmen and mafia-turned-politicians have multiple cases of murder, loot, rioting and other criminal offences registered against them. Some are already incarcerated as under trials, while others are fighting court cases.

But none of this deters them from taking the plunge.

“Political parties have never been averse to fielding strongmen and gangsters. In fact, it has been a common trend in UP politics. Parties nonchalantly bestow the status of ‘politician’ on musclemen, gangsters and their kin, giving them a comfortable political space with an eye on their money and muscle power which often comes handy in winning elections,” said Siddharth Mukherjee, assistant professor in the department of political science at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow.

He said he had done a survey on these strongmen which revealed that they often roped in local group leaders to create influence in their region. “They keep spies and local informers in villager and localities to get inputs about who is against them and who is in their favour. Such musclemen often use fear factor to get votes and win elections,” he added.

“To win elections by using muscle and money power, political parties are giving tickets to gangsters and criminals in UP. The Election Commission has called for electoral reform but there are no takers for steps to keep out criminals,” said another political observer and teacher in a Gorakhpur college AK Mishra.

Also Read | Lok Sabha election 2019: Here is all you need to know about Uttar Pradesh

STRONGMEN AND THEIR KIN IN POLL FRAY

The musclemen who top the list of candidates include slain brigand Dadua’s brother Bal Kumar Patel (himself a history sheeter), incarcerated mafioso Mukhtar Ansari’s brother Afzal Ansari, strongman of Gorakhpur region Hari Shankar Tiwari’s son Kushal Tiwari, Lucknow’s history sheeter Arun Shankar Shukla and two strongmen of Gonda region Brijbhushan Sharan Singh and Vinod Kumar Singh alias Pandit Singh.

In addition, Akshay Pratap Singh, kin of an influential strongman and independent MLA from Kunda, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, strongman of Azamgarh and Varanasi region Ramakant Yadav, local strongman of Agra region Bhagwan Sharma alias Guddu Pandit and strongman of Sultanpur region former SP MLA Chandrabadhra Singh are also in fray.

Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, who is the scion of the royal family of Bhadri estate of Kunda, Pratapgarh, even launched his political party Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) and fielded two candidates from Pratapgarh and Kaushambi where he has political as well as social hold.

From Pratapgarh, Singh’s kin and ex-MP Akshay Pratap Singh is contesting, while his close associate and former MP Shailendra Kumar is contesting from Kaushambi.

Mafioso-turned-politician Dhananjay Singh, who was a BSP MP from Jaunpur in 2009 but was later expelled for anti-party activities, was believed to be in contact with different parties yet again for a ticket but failed to get one. The former MP has cases of murder and rape against him.

He had also fought as an independent candidate from Jaunpur in 2014 but lost.

His contemporary Umakant Yadav who shares the same fiefdom and wields influence in Jaunpur-Azamgarh region failed to get a ticket from any political party.

Profiles

Bal Kumar Patel

Slain dacoit Dadua’s history-sheeter brother Bal Kumar Patel, who was sitting Samajwadi Party MP from Mirzapur, is contesting as Congress candidate from Banda this time. Multiple criminal cases, including those of extortion and threats, were lodged against him in the past. At present, he is facing trial in eight cases.

Afzal Ansari

Former MP Afzal Ansari, brother of mafioso Mukhtar Ansari and a sitting BSP MLA from Mau, is the BSP candidate from Ghazipur. Afzal does not have as many criminal cases against him as his brother Mukhtar but he and his family wield massive influence in his region. Mukhtar Ansari has 45 cases of murder, kidnapping and extortion against him. He is facing trial in the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Krishnanand Rai and is presently lodged at Ropar jail in Punjab on charges of extortion from a Mohali businessman.

Bhim Shankar Tiwari alias Kushal Tiwari

Hari Shankar Tiwari, former MLA and a much feared don from Gorakhpur, may be a pale shadow of his former self now but he managed to get a BSP ticket for his son Bhim Shankar alias Kushal Tiwari from Khalilabad. A former strongman of Gorakhpur region, Hari Shankar who had been a minister in BJP and BSP governments, is believed to have a strong hold on the entire region.

Ramakant Yadav

Former BJP MP from Azamgarh and a local strongman Ramakant Yadav is contesting from Bhadohi as Congress candidate. He is facing trial in two criminal cases. He has strong influence in Varanasi, Bhadohi and Azamgarh region.

Chandra Bhadra Singh

Former SP MLA Chandra Bhadra Singh is the son of slain strongman of Sultanpur region Indra Bhadra Singh, who was murdered in 1999. Chandra Bhadra Singh and his younger brother Yash Bhadra Singh were the key accused in the sensational murder of a godman Sant Gyaneshwar in 2006. The duo was later acquitted by the lower court following which a review petition was filed in the Allahabad high court by the slain godman’s family. Besides, he was named in as many as six criminal cases in the past.

First Published: May 01, 2019 14:21 IST