Akhilesh Yadav Meets Party Leader Azam Khan Amid Talk Of Frosty Ties

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav today met with party leader Azam Khan, who had claimed that they hadn't met for three years.

Akhilesh Yadav visited the sulking leader at a Delhi hospital, and they chatted for two hours amid speculation of a rift.

They discussed the Rampur Lok Sabha byelection and the Rajya Sabha election, according to sources.

Azam Khan was the Lok Sabha MP from Rampur but quit after he became an MLA in the February-March Uttar Pradesh election. His support to any Samajwadi Party candidate contesting from the seat in elections this month is crucial.

As for the Rajya Sabha election, the Samajwadi Party has the numbers to get three candidates elected but sources say the leadership is worried that any rift with Azam Khan may impact the voting preferences of MLAs loyal to him.

Azam Khan, one of the Samajwadi Party's tallest Muslim leaders, is reportedly upset with Akhilesh Yadav but on record, he has denied it. He was recently released on bail after 27 months in jail over allegations that included robbery and assault.

He had skipped the Uttar Pradesh assembly session for two days last week and had also given an open-ended reply to talk about joining another party. Was he looking to jump on another boat, reporters asked. "There must be a makool kashti (the right boat)," Mr Khan had quipped.

Speaking to NDTV, he couched his resentment in sarcasm.

"I have no complaints against him (Akhilesh Yadav). I am not unhappy, I can't afford to be unhappy. I am too small to advise Akhilesh Yadav," Mr Khan said at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital where he was admitted for check-ups.

Mr Khan said he had no contact with Mr Yadav while in prison, so the question of a rift doesn't arise. "We haven't crossed paths in more than three years," he said.

"I am not a neta (politician). I don't consider myself a Samajwadi Party leader. I have always been a party worker and will remain a party worker," said Mr Khan, who was released from UP's Sitapur jail on May 20 after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the alleged cheating case.