India, June 17 -- There's a legend about two gangster-turned-politicians of eastern UP. It goes like this: Mukhtar Ansari's deadly rivalry with Brijesh Singh dates back to his college days. He was fond of cricket and once had a tussle with Singh's family during a game. Mukhtar's friend was killed, triggering an unending rivalry in the region.

The region may be on the boil again if the Mau assembly by-polls are held.

I heard the story about the cricket rivalry in 2007, when Mukhtar, his MP brother Afzal Ansari and two other family members were in jail in connection with the Krishnanand Rai murder case. Rai was a close aide of Brijesh Singh and the enmity had led to gang wars and spread to the political arena. Mukhtar Ansari, who mostly r...