In UP poll season, the son also rises

Lucknow: After UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav set the ball rolling by focusing on roping in young candidates, an entire new generation of politicians from all political parties is set to make a debut in active politics in the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

Abbas Bin Mukhtar Ansari, the son of Qaumi Ekta Dal MLA Mukhtar Ansari, is a young management graduate who will contest his first election in 2017. An active sportsman, he is a three-time national champion in shooting and has represented India in many international events.

Soft spoken and courteous, Abbas Ansari is a splitting image of his father and has been actively working in the districts where his party (QED) wields considerable influence. Since the QED has merged with the Samajwadi Party, Abbas Ansari will now contest on the SP symbol.

Asked about his preferred constituency, the young politician says rather diplomatically, “It is up to the party to decide but if asked to list my choice, I would prefer a seat from Varanasi, Azamgarh or Jaunpur.”

He said since he was born into a political family, politics was a natural choice.

Another debutant in politics is Aditya Yadav, the son of state SP president Shivpal Yadav. He may contest form either Jaswantnagar, a seat his father holds, or Karhal in Mainpuri. Born into the first political family of Uttar Pradesh, Aditya Yadav is the most reticent among his cousins, including CM Akhilesh Yadav and MPs Dharmendra Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav and Akshay Yadav.

The 28-year-old is the chairman of the UP Pradeshik Cooperative Federation and a global board director of International Cooperative Alliance. He came in the limelight during the recent family feud in the SP and could be seen at all public gathering with his father throughout the crisis but chose not to utter a word on the subject.

The third young politician, who will be in the fray this time is Afzal Siddiqui, the son of BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui. He has been entrusted with the task of bringing Muslim youth into the BSP fold.

True to the “BSP culture”, he remains incommunicado with the media.

“Moreover, it gives me an opportunity to learn how to serve the common people. I have been working in my father’s constituency, Mau, for long.” And what would he like to change about politics, if given a chance? “If politicians start speaking the truth, a lot will change automatically. It will bring accountability and honesty in politics,” said the young leader.

He was recently asked to deliver a speech at a party rally in Ghazipur and made it expectedly “short and sweet”. Incidentally, Abbas Ansari also made his debut at this rally. Aditya Yadav is unwilling to comment on his choice of seat but says “elders will decide on the issue”.

A striking similarity between these two debutants is that unlike most politicians, they are both articulate, yet soft spoken. Observers say there is no element of brashness in them, even though they both belong to powerful political families.