Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will meet Azam Khan in Rampur Jail today. Yadav is visiting to inquire about Khan’s health after receiving information from his wife. The meeting is also likely to cover the party’s 2027 poll strategy as the leader works to secure his core Muslim vote base.

As political temperature rises in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will be meeting Azam Khan-- party's general secretary and founding member in Rampur jail today. Yadav is likely to discuss SP's election strategy. Confirming the meeting, SP leader Fakhrul Hasan Chand told ANI that Yadav while Yadav is primarily visiting Khan to inquire about his health, they are likely to discuss poll-related issues. "The Samajwadi Party national president is going to Rampur tomorrow to meet Azam Khan. He (Akhilesh Yadav) received information from Azam Khan's wife that his health is not good; therefore, he is visiting Rampur Jail tomorrow to meet him. During this visit, he will meet with him and inquire about his well-being," Chand told ANI.   #WATCH | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh: On the proposed meeting between Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Azam Khan at Rampur Jail tomorrow, SP leader Fakhrul Hasan Chand says, "The Samajwadi Party national president is going to Rampur tomorrow to meet Azam Khan. He (Akhilesh Yadav) received information from Azam Khan's wife that his health is not good; therefore, he is visiting Rampur Jail tomorrow to meet him. During this visit, he will meet with him and inquire about his well-being." -- ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2026 Akhilesh had allegedly been avoiding such a meeting, but fears of losing the party's core Muslim vote base appear to have compelled him to reach out to arguably the most prominent minority leader in Uttar Pradesh. During Khan's jail terms, Yadav has just met him once in 2024, right before Lok Sabha elections.   Rampur, Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav will visit Rampur today to meet senior party leader Azam Khan, who is lodged in the district jail, and his family. Posters welcoming him have been put up at various locations across the city https://t.co/OoAwATsLmD -- IANS (@ians_india) October 22, 2026 Why Akhilesh-Khan meeting is crucial? Akhilesh's meeting with Azam Khan assumes significance as All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi continues to take aim at Samajwadi Party along with Congress, stressing that Muslims need to have their own leaders rather than a Nehru, Gandhi or Yadav. Owaisi's remarks came at a public meeting in Rampur. Owaisi said, "We will not make any Nehru, Gandhi, or Yadav our leader. These young sons and daughters will stand at our forefront... Young Muslims have just as much potential as people from other communities. You also have the talent, but you are not given a platform." Azam Khan's wife alleges indifference Meanwhile, Azam Khan's wife, Tahzeen Fatima, a former SP Rajya Sabha member and MLA, has publicly accused the party leadership of being indifferent to her family. This comes despite Azam's long-standing loyalty to Akhilesh and his father, SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, dating back to the party's formation in 1992.