Tug-of-War Threatens SP in West UP as Azam Khan Tries to Pull Strings from Prison over Candidate List, Akhilesh Fumes

A deep rift has emerged in the Samajwadi Party in Western Uttar Pradesh with a jailed Azam Khan trying to call the shots from Sitapur jail, and candidates being shuffled around on two key Lok Sabha seats of Moradabad and Rampur at the last moment. This has led to upset faces and a tussle between Khan and Akhilesh Yadav.

Trouble began after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav met Khan in Sitapur Jail on March 22. Sources say Khan made two demands — that sitting MP ST Hasan must be dropped from Moradabad and Akhilesh Yadav should fight from Rampur. BJP had won the Rampur Lok Sabha seat in a bypoll after Khan was disqualified from contesting.

But Yadav did not agree with Khan entirely. Last Monday, SP officially announced Hasan as its candidate from Moradabad and he filed his nomination. Khan then threw a fit and, on Wednesday, SP changed its candidate at the last moment and Khan’s confidante Ruchi Veera filed her nomination from Moradabad on the official SP symbol. An upset Hasan told News18 that he has been “humiliated” and the SP leadership delayed sending the official letter in his support till 3pm on Wednesday, which was the last day of filing nominations for Phase-1 seats.

More drama was in store in Rampur where SP has put up Delhi Imam Mohibullah Nadvi as its candidate against Azam Khan’s wishes of Akhilesh or his confidante Asim Raza fighting the election. The Khan camp says it is always he who decides the candidate from Rampur. Now, Raza has filed his nomination along with Nadvi and the local SP unit, including the sitting MLA from Rampur and district chief, have refused to campaign for SP in the polls. They have also issued a statement on behalf of Khan for the “boycott” of elections in Rampur.

SP has also changed its declared candidate in Bijnor from Yashveer Singh to Deepak Saini. The party is planning to change its Meerut candidate after BJP has put up Arun Govil from there.