A day before Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav’s planned visit to Rampur, senior party leader and former minister Mohammad Azam Khan has spoken out for the first time since his release from jail last month.
The 77-year-old leader, once considered one of the most influential figures in Uttar Pradesh politics and the SP’s most prominent Muslim face, said he now intends to stay in the background while continuing to hold respect for the party’s leadership, in an interview with the Indian Express.
After spending nearly four years in two separate terms at Sitapur jail, Khan has been living quietly at his residence in Rampur’s Mumtaz Park.
Reflecting on his time in prison, he described his experience as “humane”, stating he holds no resentment.
A ten-time MLA from Rampur Sadar, Khan’s long political career has been overshadowed by dozens of cases filed against him since 2019, including allegations of land grabbing, cheating, and hate speech. His disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 2022 opened the door for BJP’s Akash Saxena to win the Rampur seat, a contest Khan dismissed, saying, “He doesn’t have the status of a rival. His father didn’t either.”
Khan also reiterated his long-standing claim that the 2022 Rampur bypoll was marred by the disenfranchisement of Muslim voters, accusing the media of ignoring the issue.
“If the truth of the bypoll had been shown, there would have been a revolution,” he said, urging Opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, and Tejashwi Yadav to make Rampur a symbol of electoral injustice.
Speaking about his long association with SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, Khan said, “He built the party from the ground up. No one can reach his stature.” He praised Akhilesh Yadav for keeping the party intact, calling him “the most cultured political leader of this era” and highlighting the mutual respect between them.
Despite his earlier criticism of the Congress, Khan voiced support for the SP-Congress alliance, saying, “There is a more lethal missile in front of us. A closed fist is better than open fingers.” He, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the INDIA bloc’s lack of Muslim representation, remarking that no one from the community “is visible on its stage.”
Khan also revealed that he was initially informed Akhilesh would contest the Rampur Lok Sabha seat, but later learned otherwise. “I was happy he accepted the party’s decision, but I was hurt by who eventually contested. The people of Rampur deserved to fight that election. I don’t even know Mohibullah Nadvi,” he said, adding, “I never sold myself, but I found out my aukat (status).”
On Akhilesh Yadav’s scheduled visit, Khan said he was looking forward to welcoming him personally. “He has a right over my body and soul. My honour will increase when he comes. But I want only him to come, no one else. My wife sat crying alone on Eid. No one asked about my family all this time,” he said.
Asked about his future role in the SP, Khan replied, “Standing at the very back. The one who stands at the back is the one who will be seen. Many rush to be at the front, but the one at the back is clearly visible from afar.”
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