OP Rajbhar distances himself from party MLA Abbas Ansari arrested by ED

Mau (UP): With the Enforcement Directorate arresting SBSP MLA from Mau Abbas Ansari, party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Sunday distanced himself from the legislator, claiming he was Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's pick. The SBSP had contested the 2022 UP Assembly elections in alliance with the SP on 12 seats and won six seats, including Mau, but the two parted ways after the BJP's victory in the polls.

"Abbas Ansari is not our MLA. Actually, he is (an MLA) of Akhilesh Yadav. He is being termed as an MLA of our party, because he had taken the election symbol of our party, and had contested it. Abbas moves around (in vehicles) with the flag of the SP," Rajbhar told reporters when asked about Ansari.

The ED had arrested Abbas Ansari, 30, son of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, after a long questioning session at the agency's office in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh in a money laundering case being investigated against his family, officials had said on Saturday.


Rajbhar, meanwhile, continued his tirade against former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav,

"Akhilesh had become over-confident that he is going to win the polls and will form the next government in the state, and tried to finish me by giving tickets to dummy candidates," the SBSP chief said.

Rajbhar claimed Yadav got the ticket for Abbas Ansari from the SBSP as part of a ''conspiracy''.

Last month, the ED had attached seven immovable assets of Mukhtar Ansari worth ₹1.48 crore (registry value). Mukhtar Ansari, a five-time former MLA, is currently lodged in jail in Uttar Pradesh's Banda. The 59-year-old was questioned by the ED in this case last year.