Afzal Ansari


Afzal Ansari is an an Indian politician belonging to the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Member of Parliament of India for Ghazipur constituency, Uttar Pradesh. He won the 2004 general Lok Sabha election on the Samajwadi Party ticket.

Early life

Afzal Ansari was born in Yusufpur-Mohammadabad town in Ghazipur district, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his school education. For higher studies, he enrolled in the local post-graduate college and completed Post Graduation from the University of Gorakhpur. Ansari's father Subhanullah Ansari was the chairman of Nagar Palika Parishad, Mohammadabad, and was elected unopposed. His grandfather Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari served as the president of the All-India Muslim League, as well as the Indian National Congress, and was one of the founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Former Vice President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is Afzal Ansari's uncle. Ansari's younger brother is Sibagatullah Ansari and his elder brother Mukhtar Ansari is a well-known criminal, who was jailed for more than a decade.
Former governor of Odisha, former Member of Parliament from Bidar and career diplomat Shaukatullah Shah Ansari and former Member of Parliament Faridul Haq Ansari, were forebears of Ansari.

Political career

Member of Legislative Assembly

Ansari started his political career with the Communist Party of India. He contested Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election in 1985 for the first time and defeated Abhay Narayan Rai from Indian [National Congress with a margin of 3,064 votes. From 1985 to 2002, Ansari served five terms as Member of the Legislative Assembly for Mohammadabad Assembly constituency.

Member of Parliament

Afzal Ansari contested the 2004 Lok Sabha general election in 2004 on the Samajwadi Party ticket and defeated Manoj Sinha of the Bharatiya Janata Party with a margin of 226,777 votes. He contested the 2009 general election on the Bahujan Samaj Party ticket for Ghazipur but lost to the Samajwadi Party's Radhe Mohan Singh.
After some political differences, Ansari left the Bahujan Samaj Party and founded a new political party called Quami Ekta Dal and served as its Secretary-General before merging it with Bahujan Samaj Party. Ansari rejoined the BSP in 2019 and contested the general election in Gazipur; he won the seat, becoming the 17th Lok Sabha member from Gazhipur.

Electoral performance

YearConstituencyVote %Party
1996Mohammadabad41.96%Samajwadi Party
1993Mohammadabad38.08%Communist Party of India
1991Mohammadabad46.31%Communist Party of India
1989Mohammadabad37.69%Communist Party of India
1985Mohammadabad34.53%Communist Party of India

Positions held