Afzal Ansari

Afzal Ansari (born 14 August 1953) is an Indian politician belonging to the Bahujan Samaj Party and  the Member of Parliament  (MP) of India for Ghazipur constituency, Uttar Pradesh. He won the 2004 general Lok Sabha election on the Samajwadi Party ticket.

Early life
Afzal Ansari was born in Yusufpur–Mohammadabad town in Ghazipur district, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his school education. For higher studies, he enrolled in the local post-graduate college and completed Post Graduation from the University of Gorakhpur. Ansari's father Subhanullah Ansari was the chairman of Nagar Palika Parishad, Mohammadabad, and was elected unopposed. His grandfather Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari served as the president (1926–1927) of the All-India Muslim League, as well as the Indian National Congress (INC), and was one of the founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Former Vice President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is Afzal Ansari's uncle. Ansari's younger brother is Sibagatullah Ansari and his elder brother Mukhtar Ansari are well-known politicians.

Former governor of Odisha, former Member of Parliament from Bidar and career diplomat Shaukatullah Shah Ansari and former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Faridul Haq Ansari, were forebears of Ansari.

Member of Legislative Assembly
Ansari started his political career with the Communist Party of India. He contested Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election in 1985 for the first time and defeated Abhay Narayan Rai from Indian National Congress with a margin of 3,064 votes. From 1985 to 2002, Ansari served five terms as Member of the Legislative Assembly for Mohammadabad Assembly constituency.

Member of Parliament
Afzal Ansari contested the 2004 Lok Sabha general election in 2004 on the Samajwadi Party ticket and defeated Manoj Sinha of the Bharatiya Janata Party with a margin of 226,777 votes. He contested the 2009 general election on the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket for Ghazipur but lost to the Samajwadi Party's Radhe Mohan Singh.

After some political differences, Ansari left the Bahujan Samaj Party and founded a new political party called Quami Ekta Dal and served as its Secretary-General before merging it with Bahujan Samaj Party. Ansari rejoined the BSP in 2019 and contested the general election in Gazipur; he won the seat, becoming the 17th Lok Sabha member from Gazhipur.

Positions held

 * Member, Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (five terms) 1985–2001
 * Elected to 14th Lok Sabha, 2004
 * Member, Committee on Chemicals & Fertilizers
 * Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Railways
 * Member, Central Haj Committee of India