Akhilesh meets Azam Khan, calls him 'heartbeat of Samajwadi Party'

Political circles in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday (October 8) remained witness to a special occasion as the chief of the Samajwadi Party (SP), Akhilesh Yadav, called on senior party leader and former state cabinet minister, Azam Khan, in Rampur.

It was Akhilesh’s first meeting with Azam, who was released in September after spending 23 months in jail in connection with several criminal cases. Besides calling Azam the “heartbeat of SP”, the SP supremo also posted on X that the meeting was emotional.

‘Azam Khan is party’s heartbeat’

The day was a special one for 77-year-old Azam, who had candid talks with the former chief minister, who has always been close to him. That the duo had a heartfelt conversation and the senior leader uncorked his emotion during their closed-door meeting was evident from Akhilesh’s social media post. Leaders and workers of the SP had also been eagerly waiting for the meeting, which was also considered significant from the perspective of the state’s Muslim politics.

क्या कहें भला उस मुलाक़ात की दास्तान
जहाँ बस जज़्बातों ने खामोशी से बात की pic.twitter.com/uHFxDoKDTw

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) October 8, 2025

When Akhilesh came out of the room after meeting Azam, he said, “I couldn’t go to meet Azam Saheb in jail, but have come now. Azam Khan is the heartbeat of our party. When it comes to the old generation, they belong to another league.”

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Azam wanted to meet Akhilesh alone

Speculation was abuzz as soon as Akhilesh’s visit to Rampur to meet Azam was finalised. The veteran leader had placed the condition of meeting Akhilesh alone. It is believed that Azam particularly was against the presence of Mohibullah Nadvi, the sitting MP from Rampur, who might have accompanied Akhilesh during the visit. It was only on Tuesday (October 7) that Azam remarked that he did not even know who Nadvi is.

On Wednesday, Akhilesh flew from Lucknow to Bareilly airport in a chartered flight. He then took a helicopter to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, where Azam was present on the helipad to receive him. The SP chief honoured the senior leader’s wish by not taking anybody with him. The duo then travelled to Azam’s residence in the same car. Thereafter, the two spoke for nearly two hours.

Also read: Akhilesh slams BJP over Kanpur case, says 'party working like a gang'

Akhilesh slams BJP over Azam cases

Akhilesh, who gave an appealing caption to photographs of him with Azam that he posted on X, saying “What to say about that meeting, where only emotions spoke silently”, took on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the talks concluded. Coming out, he said, “The BJP has tried to set a world record of false cases against Azam Khan and his family. We will fight this battle together.” Akhilesh also promised to continue meeting the senior leader in the future.

‘Meeting Azam a political compulsion’

UP’s ruling BJP reacted to the meeting between Akhilesh and Azam, saying it was an act out of political desperation.

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J P S Rathore, a minister in the state’s Yogi Adityanath government, said, “Akhilesh’s compulsion is to woo the Muslim vote bank, hence this meeting.”

Om Prakash Rajbhar, also a minister in the Yogi government and chairman of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, an ally in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, said, “Azam Khan’s condition was that Akhilesh should come to his door and rub his nose in it, and that is why Akhilesh reached Rampur.”

Meeting ahead of BSP's mega rally

The meeting between Akhilesh and Azam is also important as it happened on the eve of the Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) mega rally in Lucknow on Thursday (October 9). It was also speculated earlier that Azam could make the BSP his new shelter, which, however, was ruled out by the leader himself soon after his release. Wednesday’s meeting confirmed that Azam will take a stance for his fresh innings in politics as a member of SP.

Also read: 'Jugaad Aayog': Akhilesh Yadav takes a dig at Election Commission

Political analyst Manmohan is of the opinion that Azam would continue in SP because of his swift understanding with Akhilesh, something which would be difficult to find in the BSP, given its supremo Mayawati’s style of politics. “Besides, he will also have to look after the political future of his son Abdulla Azam,” he told The Federal.

UP will head to Assembly elections in 2027.

(The article was first published in The Federal Desh)