Lucknow: Amid growing speculations of a rift between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has reaffirmed the strength and continuity of the SP-Congress alliance, saying it will be intact till the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Akhilesh Yadav made the assurance while addressing the concerns of minority leaders in his party over ongoing tensions between Saharanpur Congress MP Imran Masood and Saharanpur Dehat SP MLA Ashu Malik, sparked by a public war of words between the two senior Muslim leaders.
The two have reportedly been exchanging critical remarks against one another for over a month, fueling rumours of discord within the SP-Congress alliance.
According to SP functionaries, Akhilesh held a meeting with minority-wing leaders Monday and Pasmanda Muslims Tuesday, discussing their various issues. When several local minority leaders asked if the SP-Congress alliance would continue or not, Akhilesh clarified that it would till the UP assembly polls.
Later, when some leaders asked about the ongoing controversy between Imran Masood and Ashu Malik, Akhilesh said, ”Strengthen the party. We have an alliance with the Congress. We have to fight the elections together. We will talk to top leaders in Congress about Imran Masood. It is not a big issue. Neither is he a top leader nor a spokesperson. All of you should focus on allying to win. The BJP has to go in the assembly elections.”
Congress MP Imran Masood has continuously been attacking the Samajwadi Party for the last few weeks, saying that the Congress does not need any crutches in UP.
Claiming a declining Muslim leadership within the Samajwadi Party, Congress MP Masood also said the 80-17 formula will not work this time in the UP assembly elections. Though the Congress party contested only 17 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP as a part of its alliance with the SP last time, Masood has claimed that the party has been preparing to contest elections on 200 assembly seats in the state.
Azam Khan ‘harassment’
At the meeting with Muslim leaders, Akhilesh Yadav advised local SP leaders to ignore disputes with Congress to ensure the alliance works smoothly, besides raising the issue of SP leader Azam Khan and his family, ThePrint has learnt.
Akhilesh has claimed continued harassment of Azam ‘sahab‘ and his family, with false cases registered against them to send them to jail. “The entire party stands with Azam sahab,” declared Akhilesh Yadav, a senior leader later confirmed to ThePrint.
According to the senior leader, many politicians, from Asaduddin Owaisi to Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan, do not raise the Azam Khan issue as aggressively as expected. However, the Samajwadi Party leadership has now decided to raise the issue in every meeting in the areas with a significant minority population.
Speaking to ThePrint, Shakeel Nadvi, the SP minority wing state president, said, ”The meeting was about the issues of minorities. We have made it clear to our leadership that we are ready to do everything to make Akhilesh ji CM, once again, since he is the most visionary leader of the country. We have also raised the issue of our senior leader, Azam Khan. The BJP government is continuously harassing his family. We should raise the issue before every minority.”
SP’s minority wing functionaries have conveyed to Akhilesh Yadav that there is no issue with minority representation in the party’s ticket distribution and that government formation is the priority in the upcoming UP assembly polls, ThePrint has learnt.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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