Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is in full control in Uttar Pradesh unlike Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, India's first sitting Chief Minister put behind bars. Kejriwal is passing orders from an enforcement directorate lock-up, while Yogi Adityanath could not be in a more commanding position, especially after the “heart attack death” of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari, whose family members have alleged foul play.

The allegation of “slow poisoning” of Mukhtar Ansari in the Banda Jail is now a matter of judicial inquiry. The opposition INDI-Alliance is convinced Mukhtar Ansari was set up for death and Ansari himself had warned that he was being “slow poisoned”. A post-mortem in the Banda hospital concluded that Ansari fell to a “heart attack”, but the Ansari family is demanding an “AIIMS post-mortem”. Ansari’s body was laid to rest Saturday morning in the Mohammadbad area of Ghazipur.

Mukhtar Ansari’s death means many things, including that an era has come to an end. Rival gangsters partial to the BJP will make a push to fill in the gap. The contest for the Ghazipur Lok Sabha seat will intensify, the Muslims will be looking for revenge; the Hindus for crowning the victory of Mukhtar's passing away with content. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of “80 out of 80” seats in Uttar Pradesh will be further within the BJP’s reach.

The Samajwadi Party and the Congress are already in a tussle to corner Mukhtar’s constituency of diehard Muslim votes. Also, suddenly, there is doubt whether Pasmanda Muslims, the ‘labarthi’ beneficiaries among them, especially Muslim women voters, will vote for the BJP. In his bailiwick, Mukhtar had built for himself a Robinhood-esque image and he “helped everybody”, irrespective of Muslim or Hindu, with the Ghazipurians voting for Mukhtar out “of pure gratitude”.

The fact is, Mukhtar Ansari’s death has affected both Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition parties. Since March 28 noon, pro-BJP mainstream visual media channels have been running a pointed campaign asking viewers, "Why should gangster and murder convict Mukhtar Ansari’s life be glorified?” The reason being the more "Muslim" Mukhtar Ansari’s character is assassinated, the more Hindus will consolidate to vote for the BJP.

This suits the Samajwadi Party as well as the Congress because of the simultaneous Muslim-votes consolidation. Both SP and Congress spokespersons have been fighting to blunt the BJP spokespersons' anti-Mukhtar campaign with praise so high, Mukhtar would be turning in his grave; this, when he is no longer there to enforce his writ with mere presence.

Gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s untimely death in judicial custody, foul or otherwise, is godsend for the BJP. For whatever it is worth, the Bharatiya Janata Party is celebrating the consolidation of Hindu votes as the controversy roiling Mukhtar’s death in judicial custody gains momentum. Purvanchal Hindus never liked Mukhtar, especially so after the deadly 2005 Mau riots, which was Mukhtar’s way of showing the hoi polloi who called the shots in Purvanchal.

The opposition parties of Uttar Pradesh are in for disappointment in the region on June 4, when the votes will be counted and the results are declared. That being said, “slow-poisoning” is in the news. Ansari died in a hospital attached to the Rani Durgavati Medical College, where he was brought in an “unconscious state” on March 28, but was declared dead soon after.

Mukhtar Ansari’s death reminded one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s political rival Alexei Navalny's mysterious death in a Russian jail. Ansari, also a politician in addition to being a convicted murderer, had his own share of political rivals in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. Ansari’s family is adamant that “UP authorities administered slow poison” and killed him, not instantly, like in the case of gangster Atiq Ahmed, but inch by inch.

The charge of “slow-poisoning” has been denied by the state government but in the poll-surcharged atmosphere of Yogi Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh, there is no shortage of takers. The doctors of Rani Durgavati Medical College and the jailers of Banda Jail, everybody, including unsavoury elements in the Yogi administration, are all in the circle of suspicion. Large swathes of Uttar Pradesh continue under Section 144. The Muslims of Uttar Pradesh aren’t ready to accept that Mukhtar Ansari fell to a heart attack, “slow-poisoning” is so much more believable in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s fiefdom.

Also, it was Yogi Adityanath who had sworn to “mitti mein milla doonga” all mafia? And who bigger “mafia” than Mukhtar Ansari? There was Atiq Ahmed, eliminated in police custody in the midst of drama and deaths in the same Uttar Pradesh where Mukhtar Ansari made a quiet exit even if leaving behind untold questions and expectations. One thing for sure, Mukhtar's death will play out to a finish in the soon to be held Lok Sabha elections in Ghazipur and around. (IPA Service)