Mayawati +Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections +QED merged with the SP +LUCKNOW: After trying its luck with the Samajwadi Party, the Quami Ekta Dal formally merged with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Thursday, and its founder - mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari - was given a ticket by party chiefAnsari is the current MLA from the constituency of Mau Sadar, and Mayawati said that's where the BSP will field him in the upcoming. He has been a member of the BSP beforeThe BSP supremo announced the merger at a hurriedly-called press conference at her residence. She said it's yet to be established in court that Ansari is a criminal.Ansari, who's currently lodged in jail, has been an accused in the (BJP MLA) Krishnanand Rai murder case. ``I was told by Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) that Akhilesh ji does not like Muslims. We therefore felt insulted in being with the SP,'' he said.

Source: Times of India January 26, 2017 12:07 UTC