Alliance With BSP Possible if Mayawati Takes Initiative: Azam Khan

Samajwadi Party leader talks exclusively to The Quint 

(Photo: The Quint)

Is there a possibility of ‘Mahagathbandhan’ in Uttar Pradesh? Can two arch-rivals –Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party – form a sustainable political alliance? These questions were raised ahead of 2017 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and have become relevant again.

In an interview with The Quint, veteran Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan said that an alliance with Mayawati was possible if the BSP supremo took the initiative.

The concept of Mahagathbandhan has its merits and we saw it in Bihar. We should seriously consider the likelihood of such an alliance in Uttar Pradesh. If BSP takes initiative, then an alliance could be worked out.

Azam Khan, Leader, Samajwadi Party

On being asked the reason for loss of Samajwadi Party in Assembly polls, Khan said that they were not as ruthless as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and hence lost the election.

We lost because we weren’t ruthless or communal. We didn’t talk about temple or mosque, we did not indulge in the politics of hate and divide.

Azam Khan, Leader, Samajwadi Party

Azam Khan also blamed media for the internal divide in Samajwadi Party.

Media has also helped in widening the divide in the Yadav family.

Azam Khan, Leader, Samajwadi Party

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