Daijiworld Media Network - Lucknow

Lucknow, Jun 1: A day after being sentenced to two years in prison for a hate speech conviction, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) MLA Abbas Ansari was disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, an official confirmed Sunday.

Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana declared Ansari’s Mau Sadar constituency vacant and informed the Election Commission of India, which will now consider conducting a by-election.

On Saturday, the Mau court found Ansari guilty of criminal intimidation, promoting enmity, and undue influence during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The verdict, delivered by Chief Judicial Magistrate K.P. Singh in the MP-MLA court at Mau District and Sessions Court, sentenced him to two years in prison. He was granted temporary bail soon after.

The case stemmed from a speech Ansari gave during his 2022 campaign, in which he allegedly threatened government officials, saying he would “settle scores and teach them a lesson” once in power. He also claimed there would be no transfers or postings for six months after his party formed the government, vowing to keep officials in place to “settle hisab-kitab (scores).” The Election Commission subsequently banned him from campaigning, and a case was registered at Kotwali Nagar police station.

Six witnesses testified against Ansari during the trial. His lawyer, Daroga Singh, said the verdict would be challenged in the Sessions Court. “The impact on his MLA status will depend on the outcome of the appeal,” Singh said.

The conviction adds to the legal woes of the Ansari family, whose late patriarch, Mukhtar Ansari, was a notorious mafia don turned politician from eastern Uttar Pradesh.