Lucknow: Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav on Tuesday dismissed as "rumours" the speculation that party founder member Azam Khan might join the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
The remarks came shortly after Khan, a former Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister, was released on bail from the Sitapur jail here after nearly two years of incarceration.
"There is no question of Azam Khan sahab joining any other party. He has been and will always remain with the Samajwadi Party," said Yadav while talking to PTI from Jhansi.
"The SP and its leadership have always stood by Khan Sahab and will continue to do so. As for him joining any party, these are mere rumours," Yadav said, adding Khan was embroiled in fake cases.
"We all know who was behind it, don't we?" he said, adding that he will meet Khan soon.
"The court has given him bail. We thank the courts. Hundreds of fake cases were lodged against him," he added.
SP's Muzaffarnagar MP Harendra Malik too said the reports of Khan leaving the party were baseless.
"Azam Khan is a founder member of SP. He is such a tall leader. All such reports suggesting his switch from SP to any other party are baseless," Malik said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, in a post on X, said even if Khan switched to the BSP, it wouldn't have any impact on the prospects of the BJP in the 2027 assembly polls.
"Whether Mohammad Azam Khan stays in SP or goes to BSP, the defeat of both SP and BSP is certain in 2027," he said.
Reacting to Khan getting bail from the court, BJP's Rampur MLA Akash Saxena, who has filed several cases against the SP leader, said his fight against injustice will continue.
"We have always accorded the highest respect to the judiciary. Whether Azam Khan sahab remains in the SP or sides with the BSP, our fight against injustice would continue unabated," he told PTI.
Khan's family has been among the most influential in west Uttar Pradesh's Rampur district for more than three decades.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)