The Uttar Pradesh Assembly Secretariat on Sunday disqualified Abbas Ansari, the MLA from Mau Sadar and son of jailed mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, following his conviction in a hate speech case. His Mau Assembly seat has now been officially declared vacant.
The disqualification came swiftly—within 24 hours of a special MP/MLA court in Mau sentencing Abbas to two years’ imprisonment for a provocative speech made during the 2022 Assembly elections.
Although he was granted bail immediately after sentencing upon furnishing a bond, the Secretariat acted quickly to end his membership. In an unusual move, the UP Assembly Secretariat was opened on Sunday to process the disqualification. Principal Secretary of the Assembly, Pradeep Dubey, issued the order declaring the Mau seat vacant and forwarded a proposal to the Chief Electoral Officer to conduct a by-election.
Sources said the state government acted with urgency to avoid any legal loophole. If Abbas had moved the High Court on Monday and secured a stay on his conviction, the Assembly seat could not have been declared vacant. By issuing the order on a weekend, the government ensured that no such relief could be sought before the disqualification took effect. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is now expected to announce a by-election for the Mau seat.
Observers say the state government is keen to hold the bypoll before the upcoming Bihar elections. If the ECI deems it appropriate, the poll schedule could be announced within a few days. Mau would be the second assembly constituency in the district to face a bypoll within this term. Earlier, a by-election was held in the Ghosi seat, where the BJP had faced defeat.
The case that led to Abbas Ansari’s disqualification dates back to the 2022 Assembly elections. During a campaign rally, Abbas had made controversial remarks implying that no official would be transferred or posted for six months after the formation of the government, so that “accountability†could first be ensured.
“I have spoken to Akhilesh Yadav. After forming the government, there will be no transfer-posting for six months. Everyone will stay in their current position. First, we will settle scores, and only then will transfers happen,†Abbas had said, triggering widespread criticism and a legal case. Abbas, who won the election as a candidate of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP)—a BJP ally turned SP partner—was widely seen as aligned with the Samajwadi Party.
Political analysts suggest his association with the opposition might have prompted the government to expedite the
disqualification process.
