Shivpal’s list might not go down well with Akhilesh, Ramgopal

The list of candidates released by SP state president Shivpal Yadav has once again brought to the fore the tug-of-war within the ruling party clan as names of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s brother and another mafia don Ateeq Ahmad might not be palatable to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

The list of 23 candidates clearly bears the stamp of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal as Ansari’s brother and sitting Qaumi Ekta Dal (QED) MLA Sigbatullah Ansari has been nominated from Mohammadabad in Ghazipur - a seat he presently holds.

QED’s merger with Samajwadi Party had been openly opposed by the chief minister and the issue clearly became a flashpoint in the feud in the Yadav clan ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

Another controversial name in the list released on Saturday is that of mafia don Ateeq Ahmad who has been fielded from Kanpur Cantt seat. Ateeq, an accused in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, is on Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘blacklist’. A former MP from Phoolpur, Ateeq was also president of the Apna Dal from 1999 to 2003.