Memories of Samajwadi Party rule is enough to bring chills down the spine of ordinary citizens, especially in parts of Western UP where crime was at its peak during the Akhilesh Yadav led regime.

Now, in a chilling reminder of what awaits the state if SP is able to make a come back, the party’s candidate from Amroha, Mukhikya Kumar, was heard saying in an address to his supporters: “I will loot all the corruption proceeds that the (current) MLA has amassed and redistribute it among you (crowd cheers)…those who talk of administration and police case, to hell with them (aisi ki taisi), I have been to jail 16 times.”

Such threatening language is par for the course from so-called ‘secular’ politicians in UP. A few days back, the Samajwadi Party candidate from Meerut (south) Adil Chaudhary was heard issuing a threat, “Our government is coming to power…Inshallah, we will take revenge from them (Hindus) for the atrocities (sic) meted out to us. We will teach them a lesson so they think 100 times before repeating it in future.”

Ever since, BJP won the elections in 2017 and Yogi Adityanath became the CM, there has been a concerted effort to curb crime in the state. Screws were turned on criminals-turned-politicians like Mukhtar Ansari and Atiq Ahmed, who earlier managed to run their empires even while in jail. Their illegal encroachments were raised, ill-gotten assets confiscated and Ansari was brought back to a UP jail from the Punjab jail where he had managed to get transferred by abusing the legal system.

Now, Atiq Ahmad has joined Owaisi’s AIMIM and his wife is going to contest elections on an AIMIM ticket, and Owaisi is also wooing Ansari to join his party. Given the high degree of acceptance for hooliganism and criminals in all ‘secular’ parties, there is every chance of a post-poll alliance between AIMIM and SP.