Mau Sadar MLA Abbas Ansari Sentenced to Two Years for Election Misconduct, Faces Disqualification
A special MP-MLA court on Saturday sentenced Abbas Ansari, sitting MLA from Mau Sadar and son of the late gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari, to two years in prison for criminal intimidation and violating election laws during a 2022 campaign rally.
Abbas, a member of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which is currently aligned with the BJP-led NDA, also faces disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly unless the verdict is overturned or stayed by a higher court.
The verdict was delivered by Chief Judicial Magistrate M.P. Singh, who found Abbas guilty of threatening public officials and intimidating voters during a rally in his constituency on March 3, 2022.
At the time, Abbas’s party was allied with the Samajwadi Party. He allegedly declared during the rally that he would force people to vote for him and punish officials who had not supported him once he gained power.
The court also imposed a fine of ₹3,000 on the 33-year-old legislator. Under Indian law, a lawmaker sentenced to two years or more in prison is automatically disqualified from holding office, unless the sentence is stayed.
Abbas’s legal counsel, Daroga Singh, confirmed that they intend to challenge the ruling in the high court and seek a stay to protect his Assembly membership. “If the high court stays the lower court’s order, his disqualification will not come into effect,” Singh said.
Originally, Abbas was charged with relatively minor offences — including criminal conspiracy and election-related impersonation — which carried lighter sentences.
However, following further investigation, the police added more serious charges, including promoting enmity between groups (Section 153A), criminal intimidation (Section 506), and threats to public servants (Section 189), alongside IPC Sections 120B and 171F.
Abbas entered politics in 2022, winning the Mau Sadar seat once held by his father, Mukhtar Ansari, who served as MLA from 1996 to 2022 under various banners, including the BSP, Samajwadi Party, and Qaumi Ekta Dal.
Mukhtar Ansari, long known as a powerful gangster-turned-politician, was convicted in several cases in recent years and was serving two life sentences before his death in March 2023.
He died in custody in a Banda hospital, reportedly due to cardiac arrest. However, his family has alleged foul play, claiming he was slowly poisoned in jail. His wife, Afsha Ansari, also listed in police records as a wanted gangster, has been absconding for three years and was recently declared a fugitive by authorities.
As Abbas Ansari now faces legal uncertainty, his political future hinges on the outcome of the appeal in the higher court.
