Two-time BSP Muslim MLA Shah Alam joins SP

Two-time former MLA and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Lucknow in the presence of party president Akhilesh Yadav. Jamali, who carries influence in his home district of Azamgarh, served two terms as an MLA between 2012 and 2022 from the Mubarakpur Assembly seat of the district and polled more than 2.66 lakh votes as a BSP nominee in the 2022 Lok Sabha by-election from the Azamgarh seat. Jamali’s induction is seen as an important step by the SP to empower the prospects of the party in the Azamgarh district where the Muslim community is influential electorally before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the newly inducted leader is likely made a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) by the SP in this month polls for vacant Legislative Council seats. SP has not yet announced any candidate on Azamgarh seat and has made Dharmendra Yadav in-charge of this and Kannauj seat.