Seeking to capitalise on the resentment among the Muslim leaders of the Samajwadi Party, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has extended an olive branch to SP MLA from Rampur, Mohammad Azam Khan, to switch over.

The move comes in the wake of serious charges leveled against Akhilesh Yadav by Fasahat Khan, a confidant of Azam Khan.  SP MP from Sambhal, Shafiqur Rehman Barq had also recently alleged that the SP was not working for Muslims.  Barq had said he was not satisfied with the working of the party. A few days ago, media incharge and Khan’s close aide Fasahat Khan also alleged that Azam Khan was being ignored by the SP chief.

Sensing an opportunity, AIMIM spokesperson Mohammad Farhan has sent a letter to Azam Khan, who is lodged in Sitapur jail for over two years. The AIMIM spokesperson, in his letter, has alleged that the SP is not sympathetic towards Muslims and treats them only as a vote bank.

Farhan said, “Deep resentment prevails in the Muslim community as Akhilesh Yadav has preferred to ignore Azam Khan and has done nothing for his release from jail. People from across the country have been coming to see Azam Khan in jail but Akhilesh Yadav has visited him only once.”

He claimed that 96 per cent Muslims voted for the SP in the recent elections but the community was not in the priority list of the Samajwadi Party.

“AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi wants Azam Khan to switch over to his party. He should join AIMIM and strengthen it further and take the party ahead in the state. I have written a three-page letter to Azam Khan. Owaisi will also go to meet Khan in Sitapur jail; we have sought time. Before anything else, we pray for his release from jail,” the AIMIM spokesperson said.

Several Muslim leaders from the SP have voiced their resentment against Akhilesh Yadav and the party for ignoring Muslims even after receiving a majority of votes of the community in state assembly elections.