Akhilesh Yadav to visit Azam Khan on October 8

Lucknow (UP), Sep 25 (PTI) Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav will visit Rampur on October 8 to meet party founder member Azam Khan, who was recently released from jail after approximately two years.

"We have finalised the visit, and I will be going to meet him," Yadav stated when asked about his plans to visit Rampur.

According to party sources, Yadav will depart for Bareilly via private plane from Chowdhury Charan Singh Airport and will then travel to Rampur by car. He is expected to be accompanied by Rampur MP Mohibulla Nadvi, who was given a ticket for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against Khan's wishes.

Khan, who was released from Sitapur jail on Tuesday, firmly rejected speculations about his joining the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

A ten-time MLA from Rampur, Khan faces several criminal charges, including allegations of land grabbing and corruption, which he claims are politically motivated. His recent release followed the Allahabad High Court granting him bail last week in the Quality Bar land encroachment case, where his name was added during a reinvestigation nearly five years after the FIR was filed.

77-year-old Khan had expressed his confidence, stating, "I have faith that I will come out clean. I am confident that I will get justice from the high court, and if not, from the Supreme Court. Perhaps that stage will not come." Dismissing rumours about him switching parties, the SP founding member remarked, "We have something called character. Character does not mean whether we hold a post or not; it means people love and respect us. And we are not for sale, we have proved that." Regarding speculation that Shivpal Singh Yadav might visit him, Khan remarked with emotion, "I have spent five years alone in a small cell. The feeling of waiting for someone has died." When asked if he would remain with the SP, Khan replied, "What is the question of not remaining?" He also dismissed any speculation about contacting the BSP, telling reporters, "You don't even understand that much!" BSP supremo Mayawati is set to hold a massive rally in Lucknow on October 9 to commemorate the death anniversary of BSP founder Kanshiram, leading to speculations that Khan might join the BSP during this rally. PTI ABN ABN MPL MPL