Overview
- Wednesday’s one-on-one at Azam Khan’s Rampur home was their first meeting since his late-September release from Sitapur jail after nearly two years in custody.
- The discussion lasted about two hours, included lunch, and excluded family and local leaders, following Khan’s insistence that he would meet only Akhilesh Yadav.
- Akhilesh praised Khan as a foundational SP figure and said cases he called politically motivated would be withdrawn if the party forms the next Uttar Pradesh government in 2027.
- Azam Khan downplayed talk of differences, said his family’s ties to the party remain strong, and indicated he would be available to the SP in whatever capacity he can.
- Political opponents labeled the visit a stunt, Mayawati rejected rumors of Khan shifting to the BSP, and fact-checkers debunked a viral clip miscast as a recent Yogi–Azam meeting from 2017.