Azam Khan (with red hair) is one of the Samajwadi Party's tallest Muslim leaders.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav today met with party leader Azam Khan, who claimed they hadn't met for three years.
Akhilesh Yadav visited the sulking leader at a Delhi hospital, and they chatted for two hours amid speculation of a rift.
They discussed the Rampur Lok Sabha byelection and the Rajya Sabha election, according to sources.
Azam Khan was the Lok Sabha MP from the Rampur seat but quit after he became an MLA. His support to any Samajwadi Party candidate on the seat is crucial. Elections are due this month.
The Samajwadi Party has the numbers to get three of its Rajya Sabha election candidates elected but sources say the top leadership is worried any rift with Azam Khan may impact the voting preferences of MLAs loyal to him.
Azam Khan, one of the Samajwadi Party's tallest Muslim leaders, is reportedly upset with Akhilesh Yadav but on record, he has denied it. He was recently released on bail after 27 months in jail over allegations that included robbery and assault.
He had skipped the Uttar Pradesh assembly session for two days last week and had also given an open-ended reply to talk about joining another party.
Was he looking to jump on another boat, reporters asked. "There must be a makul kashti (the right boat)," Mr Khan had quipped.
Speaking to NDTV, he appeared to lean towards sarcasm.
"I have no complaints against him (Akhilesh Yadav). I am not unhappy, I can't afford to be unhappy. I am too small to advise Akhilesh Yadav," Mr Khan said at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital where he was admitted for routine check-ups.
Mr Khan said he had no contact with Mr Yadav while in prison, so the question of a rift doesn't arise.
"We haven't crossed paths in more than three years," he said.
"I am not a neta (politician). I don't consider myself a Samajwadi Party leader. I have always been a party worker and will remain a party worker," said Mr Khan, who was released from UP's Sitapur jail on May 20 after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the alleged cheating case.
