Lucknow
Danish Azad Ansari, the Muslim face of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, who was sworn in a minister of State in Lucknow, is the product of the campus politics where he had first joined the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), BJP’s student wing, a decade ago. Also the 32-year-old Danish Ansari may be the youngest minister in the Yogi cabinet.
As a student leader, Danish was known for his bold and independent views on politics and social issues. He worked to get Muslim youth to connect with the BJP and RSS.
It’s for his services that he had been included in the 52-member Yogi ministry without being elected to the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council,
The 32-year old Imran Ansari told the media his inclusion in the Yogi ministry was” a symbol of faith reposed by the party in a dedicated worker and a "slap" on the faces of the opposition Samajwadi Party and Congress.”
He claimed the Muslims were getting closer to BJP. He claimed BJP's Minority Morcha activists had helped the minority members avail of the government schemes like housing, cooking gas, etc., and these benefitted lakhs of Muslim families. He said, "the welfare schemes run by the BJP are benefitting the Muslims. This government does not ask anyone's caste and religion before giving them benefits of the schemes. The BJP works for basic facilities and necessities of the Muslims."
Ansari hails from village Apayal in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. His grandfather Mohammad Taha Ansari was a teacher in Junior school Sukhpura and had the reputation of being a good educationist. He was respected by both Hindu and Muslim students.
Danish Ansari’s initial school was in Ballia, where his father Samullah Ansari had shifted. He has a Master's Degree in Public Administration and Quality Management from the University of Lucknow.
He was nominated to the Urdu Language Committee in the Yogi government in October 2018 and was conferred upon the Minister of State status.
Ansari was appointed the General Secretary of the Minorities Cell of the BJP before the Assembly elections.
Reports said, his supporters broke out in celebrations as soon as his name was read out at the swearing-in ceremony in Lucknow.
.webp "A Kashmiri woman weaving a carpet")
.png)
.webp "Representational Image")
