Azam Khan is back in news for a derogatory remark about former party colleague Jaya Prada

Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, known for his reputation as controversy’s favourite child, is back in news for a derogatory remark about former party colleague Jaya Prada, an actor-turned-politician.  She is two term Samajwadi party Lok Sabha MP from Rampur, home turf of Azam Khan.

Addressing meeting in Moradabad on Sunday Azam Khan ``Padmaavat was made. Heard Khilji’s character is very bad. Padmaavati left this world before Khilji’s arrival. But now, a woman, a naachne waali (dancer), has made some remark about me. Tell me, if I entertain this ‘naachne gaane wali’ and join the issue with this kind of women, how will I concentrate on politics?”

Azam Khan’s remark comes after Jaya Prada said, on Saturday, that Alauddin Khilji’s character in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum-opus Padmaavat reminded her of Azam Khan.  “When I was watching Padmaavat, Khilji’s character reminded me of Azam Khan, how he had harassed me during Lok Sabha elections when I was contesting,” she had said.

Actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada has likened Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan to Alauddin Khilji, the villain in the period drama Padmaavat. JayaPrada has in the past accused the Rampur legislator of trying to sabotage her political career.

“Though I call Azam Khan my brother, the way he tried to take revenge on me in various ways... whenever I watched Khilji, the character reminded me of him,” Jayaprada had said. She added `` during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections in Rampur Azam Khan had put up my obscene posters in the constituency.

She was a Member of Lok Sabha from Rampur from 2004 to 2009 and later for the second term from 2009 to 2014. Along with former SP leader Amar Singh, she was expelled from the party for the alleged anti party activities in 2010.  Amar Singh later alleged that Azam Khan played a role in their expulsion from the Samajwadi Party.

Jaya Prada putting Azam Khan on the same pedestal as Alauddin Khilji could be seen in the light of their political slugfest in the past. Alauddin Khilji was portrayed in the Bollywood movie as a barbaric, cunning character who did not follow the rules of war or believed in honour.

Azam Khan was the leader who brought Jaya Prada, then a Bollywood superstar, to Rampur and helped her win her Lok Sabha seat from Samajwadi Party ticket.

Till 2004, Jaya Prada was a leader of the Telugu Desam Party. With Khan’s help, she had won the Rampur seat by over 85,000 votes that year.

The cordial relationship turned sour when Jaya Prada moved to the Amar Singh camp. Since then, Azam Khan has been quite vocal about his contempt for Jaya Prada. By 2009, the relationship became so bitter that Azam Khan Supporters openly campaigned against Jaya Prada.  Mulayam Singh Yadav, the then Samajwadi party chief had expelled Azam Khan from the party soon after the 2009 Lok Sabha elections for anti party activities.