Lucknow: After campaigning for the second phase of assembly elections up to a halt in the country's largest state, UP, political parties are now announcing the names of candidates. On Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata Party released a list of nine candidates. In this list, the party has tried to create a political equation in Purvanchal. BJP has fielded Ashok Singh from the Mau Sadar assembly seat. The BJP has fielded Ashok Singh from Mau Sadar seat against Mukhtar Ansari.

The same Ashok Singh is an advocate in the case of Ajay Prakash alias Manna Singh, a well-known contractor of Mau. Ashok Singh is the brother of contractor Manna Singh. The contractors' Manna Singh and Rajesh Rai were shot dead by bike-borne criminals on August 29, 2009. Eleven persons, including Mukhtar Ansari and Hanuman Pandey, were criminals in the Manna Singh murder case. In September 2017, a trial court in Mau had released eight criminals, including Ansari, from the case. The court had held Arvind Yadav, Raju alias Jamwant and Amresh Kannaujia guilty of the murder. An appeal in the matter has been filed in the High Court on behalf of Manna Singh's brother Ashok Singh and the matter is pending.

Ram Singh Maurya, a witness in the Manna Singh murder case, and his gunner were also killed a year later. Mukhtar Ansari was also accused of this murder case. The case is in court and the decision on it is yet to come. Now the BJP has fielded Manna Singh's brother in front of Mukhtar Ansari. In the last 2017 assembly elections, there was a BJP wave in UP. Of the four assembly seats of Mau district, The Mau Sadar seat was retained by Mukhtar Ansari. According to a local resident of the Mau assembly, the issue is no different in this assembly too.

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