The booing and beating Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Legislators in Mumbai has brought rich dividends for Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra chief Abu Azmi , who has been turned into the party's hero.
The Samajwadi Party is all set to cast him as the party's new Muslim mascota role so far played by Azam Khan, whose differences with general secretary Amar Singh, provoked him to part ways with SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.
While any rapproachment between the two remained a distant possibility, what further soured the relationship between the two was Mulayam's sudden bonhomie with Bhartiya Janata Party rebel Kalyan Singh, whose identity as the man behind the demolition of Babri Masjid was totally unacceptable to Azam Khan.
Mulayam's eventual parting of ways with Kalyan on Saturday, was rather late in the day. What became amply evident was that Kalyan's 11- month long association with SP had proved counter-productive for Mulayamin terms of his party losing out heavily on its otherwise strong Muslim base.
Azmi, who had not looked beyond Mumbai, suddenly shot into the spotlight, when he defied Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thakeray's diktat to take oath in the state assembly in Marathi. Azmi's insistence on taking the oath in Hindi landed him much trouble with MNS members resorting to violence on the floor of the house.
Reacting to the incident , Mulayam promptly decided to felicitate Azmi at a special function in Lucknow. Amar Singh's fad for Bollywood surprisingly did not go beyond the presence of just Jaya Bachchan who made it a point be present on the occasion. The other Bollywood-star turned MP Jaya Prada was however conspicuous by her absence.
The Samajwadi Party's headquarters in Lucknow was decked up. Azmi was welcomed with much fanfare band in attendance and drums being beaten to the hilt , amidst echoing cries of "Abu Azmi zindabad"
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