Samajwadi Party may soon face another major setback as senior party leader Mohammad Azam Khan may leave the party and possibly form his party. Azam Khan’s media in-charge Fasahat Khan Sanu said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had rightly said that Akhilesh Yadav does not want Azam Khan to come out of jail. Fasahat made the remarks late Sunday night at a meeting of Khan’s supporters at the party office in Rampur.
According to sources, Azam Khan is upset, that Akhilesh did not visit him except once in Sitapur Jail, where he has been lodged since February 2020. Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSP-L) chief Shivpal Yadav’s tussle with Akhilesh and his possible change in the ruling BJP have strengthened reports of Azam Khan leaving the SP. Azam Khan contested the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and won the Rampur seat for the 10th time from behind bars in Sitapur Jail.
Fasahat said that at the behest of Azam Khan, Muslims in Rampur and many districts also voted for SP, but the national president of SP did not favor Muslims. Azam Khan has been in jail for more than two years, but the SP president went to meet him in jail only once. Not only this, the Muslims in the party are not been given importance. Fasahat further states that now it seems that our clothes are stinking to Akhilesh Yadav.
Interestingly, a day back SP MP Shafiqur Rehman Burke also alleged that SP is not working for Muslims. Samajwadi Party’s state spokesperson and national secretary Rajendra Chaudhary said that I am not aware of any such meeting or comment. Azam Khan is with SP and SP is with him. Azam Khan’s wife Tanzin Fatima is a former MLA and former Rajya Sabha member, while her son Abdullah Azam Khan has won the Suar assembly seat in Rampur.
On 22 March, Azam Khan resigned as a member of the Rampur Lok Sabha to retain his assembly seat. This was done on the same day when Akhilesh quit as SP’s Azamgarh Lok Sabha member to retain his Karhal assembly seat. Earlier, Azam Khan was out of the SP when the party expelled him for six years in May 2009. The expulsion was revoked in December 2010 and he rejoined the party. During the period of his expulsion, he did not ally with any other party.
Azam supporters also wanted that Azam Khan, who became MLA from Rampur’s seat by resigning from the parliamentary seat, should be made the Leader of Opposition. However, Akhilesh Yadav decided to give a direct challenge to the Yogi government, keeping this post with him. Azam Khan’s media in-charge Fasahat Ali Khan Sanu said that Azam Khan supported Akhilesh Yadav and his father at every step till the formation of the Samajwadi Party and becoming the Chief Minister. Shanu counted all the favors. He said that Akhilesh Yadav did not make Azam Khan the Leader of the Opposition.
