Focus on keeping communal forces away: AAP clarifies on Mukhtar

Denying any coalition with Mukhtar Ansari in Varanasi, AAP said that there prime focus is on to defeat communal forces in Varanasi. AAP clarified its stand after Ansari on Thursday announced that will not contest the Varanasi seat against the BJP’s prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi and the AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal. The decision has been taken to avoid the division of votes, Ansari’s party, the Quami Ekta Dal (QAD).

AAP spokesperson Deepak Pandey told ‘this is a democratic county where anyone can contest the election. We have not ask anyone to withdraw his or her candidature. AAP has a clear vision to fight against corruption and communism across the country,’ said Pandey.

Pandey further said that Kejriwal is getting huge support from the people in Varansani and AAP’s supporters have been working hard to convince the people to take a stand against communism forces and corrupt people.’ Meanwhile, commenting on the Ansari’s decision to withdraw candidature from Varanasi, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal who is contesting from the same seat said, ‘Congress and BJP have to be removed from the country to corruption. And for this, all the forces must join hands.’

Quami Ekta Dal’s Ansari, a gangster-turned-politician and four-time MLA from Mau, is currently lodged in Agra jail in the BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai murder case.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Ansari had contested on BSP ticket from Varanasi and had narrowly lost to senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi by a narrow margin of 17,000 votes.

On Thursday Mukhtar’s brother and president of the QAD Afzal Ansari told the media that his outfit was of the opinion that a joint candidate from the ‘secular parties’ should be fielded against Modi to prevent division in secular votes.