New Delhi: Former Samajwadi Party (SP) MP and mafia member Atiq Ahmed has been MLA from Allahabad West for five consecutive terms. 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, and 2002—he remained the MLA of that area continuously for 15 years by winning the elections five times. First 3 times, Atiq contested as an independent and then on SP and then on Apna Dal ticket. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Atiq Ahmed won as a SP candidate from Phulpur. In the same year, the UPA government was also formed at the centre under the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh.

Atiq Ahmed, once synonymous with terror in Prayagraj, helped the UPA government when he became a Member of Parliament. 2004 was the year when the Left parties made a significant presence in the Lok Sabha, winning 43 seats. However, in 2008, angry with the nuclear deal with America, the left parties withdrew their support from the UPA. At such a time, Mulayam Singh Yadav's SP supported the UPA government with 36 MPs. A big disclosure has been made about this in the book BAHUBALIS OF INDIAN POLITICS: From Bullet to Ballot, written by Rajesh Singh.

It has been reported that six criminal MPs, including Atiq Ahmed, were released within 48 hours at that time so that they could vote and form the UPA government. The name of Atiq Ahmed was also included in these. Atiq came out of jail and voted in favour of the Manmohan government in the Parliament. At that time, UPA had 228 members and needed 44 MPs. Apart from SP, RLD and JDS also supported Congress at that time.

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