Akhilesh Yadav to Meet Azam Khan in Rampur Jail; Rajbhar and BJP Allege Election Politics

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav is scheduled to visit Rampur on Thursday to meet senior party leader Azam Khan in jail and enquire about his health. According to SP leader Fakhrul Hasan Chand, Yadav will also visit Khan’s residence to meet his wife, Tanzeen Fatima, and other family members before returning. Chand said the visit was planned after Yadav received information from Khan’s wife that his health was not good. He also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting Khan through what he described as fabricated cases. Chand claimed that if the SP returned to power in Uttar Pradesh, the party would withdraw the cases, a statement reflecting the party’s political position on Khan’s legal troubles.

The proposed meeting has triggered criticism from Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar, who described it as an election-related exercise intended to attract Muslim voters ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Rajbhar questioned why Yadav was visiting Khan now, alleging that the SP chief had failed to support the senior leader adequately during his earlier period in jail. He argued that the meeting was aimed at strengthening the party’s electoral prospects rather than demonstrating genuine concern for Khan.

BJP leader Narendra Kashyap also accused Yadav of political opportunism, questioning what political strategy could be discussed with a leader who remains incarcerated and faces multiple criminal cases. Kashyap alleged that the SP chief was attempting to use Khan’s influence among Muslim voters for electoral gains. These remarks have intensified the political debate surrounding the relationship between the SP leadership and one of its most prominent figures.

Azam Khan, a ten-time MLA from Rampur Sadar and a former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister, has been an influential leader within the Samajwadi Party for years. He has been lodged in Rampur district jail since November last year following his conviction in a forgery case. He has also received a two-year prison sentence in a separate case concerning alleged objectionable remarks about government officials during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign.

Khan’s legal difficulties have extended beyond these cases. On October 13, the Enforcement Directorate questioned him in Rampur jail as part of an ongoing money-laundering investigation connected to the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and Mohammad Ali Jauhar University. The probe concerns the alleged diversion of government contract funds through private contractors and their subsequent use, including for assets linked to the trust and university. The agency had previously conducted searches at premises associated with Khan in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Yadav has met Khan in jail on previous occasions. In March 2024, shortly before the Lok Sabha elections, the SP chief visited him at Sitapur jail, where they reportedly discussed political strategy and party candidates. Yadav had also visited Khan in February 2020, when Khan, his wife and his son Abdullah Azam were lodged in the same prison. The latest visit comes as political parties begin preparing for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Khan’s standing within the SP and his influence among sections of the Muslim electorate make his political relationship with Yadav significant for the party. However, whether the meeting will have a measurable impact on the party’s electoral prospects remains uncertain.

Yadav has continued to criticise the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, recently alleging electoral malpractice and claiming that education officials were intimidating people and facilitating electoral manipulation. He has urged the Election Commission to ensure a fair electoral process. The SP chief has also promised to regularise Shiksha Mitras as full-fledged teachers if his party returns to power, saying that the necessary budgetary provisions would be made. As the political contest in Uttar Pradesh gradually intensifies, Yadav’s planned meeting with Khan has become another point of disagreement between the SP and its opponents. While the SP has linked the visit to concerns about Khan’s health and a meeting with his family, Rajbhar and BJP leaders have portrayed it as a move driven by electoral calculations. The competing claims underline the political significance of Khan’s position within the SP as the state approaches its next Assembly elections.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from ANI.