Lucknow, Oct. 11 -- In a move seen by political observers as a ploy to put pressure on the Samajwadi Party leadership and keep the door open for any possible future political realignment, senior SP leader Azam Khan on Friday caused a flutter in political circles by praising Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati. Khan's comments came a day after Mayawati, who addressed a rally in Lucknow on Thursday, negated the buzz about the possibility of him joining her party. Speaking at a press conference in Rampur, Khan said, "Mayawati is a mass leader. I respect her a lot. If she has received any information through the media that has caused her distress, I am regretful. I can meet her whenever I want." "She is a prominent politician of the country. When Mayawati visited Rampur during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign, she was my guest. I have respect for her and she must have felt it during the meeting," he said. He also said he had a close relationship with Kanshi Ram, adding that he would not say or do anything that would cause them harm or pain. "Mayawati did not say anything negative about me," Khan said. After coming out of prison last month, Khan had made it clear that there was no question of him joining the BSP. On Wednesday, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav met Khan at his residence in Rampur. After the meeting, Akhilesh and Khan ruled out a rift. After meeting Akhilesh Yadav, Khan stated that two generations of his family are associated with Samajwadi Party. "My entire life has passed in service of the SP and the next generation is also connected to the party. The bonds of relationships will remain strong," he said on Wednesday. In turn, Akhilesh too praised Khan and said he is one of the founding members of the SP and a close aide of his father, the late Mulayam Singh Yadav. "We could not visit him in jail earlier due to time constraints," Yadav said. The SP chief hit out at the BJP for lodging false cases against Khan and his family members. Earlier too, when Khan came out of the prison in May 2022, there were rumours that he was upset with the SP leadership and might rise in rebellion. Khan's relationship with Akhilesh Yadav remained cordial. Analysing Khan's sudden praise of the BSP chief, political observers are of the view that even after his bonhomie with Akhilesh, Khan plans to maintain pressure on the SP leadership. A founder member of the SP, he has considerable influence over the Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh, especially in the Rohilkhand region. After five years in jail, in two phases, he may have lost some of the political clout that he had over the SP earlier. Khan and his family members were members of the legislative assembly and Parliament. Now, new Muslim leaders, including Rampur MP Mohibullah Nadvi, Sambhal MP Zia-ur Rehman Barq and former Moradabad MP ST Hasan, are the leading lights of the SP in the Rohilkhand region. "With a year-and-a-half to go for the assembly election, Khan plans to reassert his position in the SP as well as in the Muslim politics of UP. He also wishes to ensure that the position of his family is restored by sending family members to the assembly in 2027 from his strongholds. As the assembly election draws near, Khan will mount pressure on the SP leadership," said a political observer SK Srivastava....