He is more than an hour late, but the followers of Afzal Ansari, gathered at a street corner meet on the outskirts of Varanasi, wait for a glimpse of him. Ansari is not contesting himself; he is campaigning in the name of his brother Mukhtar Ansari, in prison on charges of murder. That legal impediment has not prevented Mukhtar from contesting and repeatedly winning the Mau seat, 3 hours east of Benares. The brothers have parted ways with their old allies, the Samajwadi Party, and are now contesting on Bahujan Samaj Party tickets.
