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| Observers say as Akhilesh gets a grip on the party the space for Azam Khan will shrink. Twitter pic |
November 21, 2015, NewsCrunch
Mulayam Singh Yadav treats his birthdays as political events. It is an occasion to throw an extravagant bash at his pocket boroughs, a sort of assurance that his clout is in tact.
The wily politician also uses it to send political smoke to indicate in which direction the wind is blowing.
Most notably, his 76th birthday event at Saifai signifies the full-fledged return of Amar Singh and reciprocally the distancing of Minister Azam Khan.
Amar Singh and Azam Khan share a hate-hate relationship and in the political seesaw battle they play within SP, the rise of one usually corresponds with the decline of the other.
At Saifai, Amar Singh sat right next to Mulayam even sharing his sofa. And when the the birthday boy rose to slice his cake, Amar Singh was among those who climbed the stage for a a bite.
In contrast, Azam Khan, who was supposed to reach Saiai on Saturday afternoon was nowhere to be seen. Ironically, he had hosted last year's bash at Rampur where he and his mentor had ridden an imported buggy though controversially.
Amar Singh, whose frosty relations with Mulayam has been thawing over the last year, is said to have the backing of Akhilesh Yadav.
Azam Khan had opposed the elevation of Akhilesh as CM and has problem in accepting his authority. He had most recently complained that he had not been consulted during the cabinet shuffle, which saw a close confidante of Amar Singh becoming a minister.
Observers say as Akhilesh gets a grip on the party the space for Azam Khan will shrink. But SP being dependent on Muslim vote would like to keep him in good humour.
And that is a tight rope walk Mulayam has not been able to walk till now.