The Samajwadi Party has released a list of 40 star campaigners for the upcoming by-elections on nine assembly seats.

The inclusion of jailed party leader Mohammad Azam Khan in the list has caught everyone by surprise.

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The list of the party’s star campaigners, submitted by party general secretary Prof Ram Gopal Yadav to the Election Commission on Saturday, includes SP President Akhilesh Yadav, MP Dimple Yadav, former minister and national general secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Other notable names on the list include Jaya Bachchan, Ramji Lal Suman, state president Shyam Lal Pal, MP Babu Singh Kushwaha, Harendra Malik, Lalji Verma, leader of the opposition in the assembly Mata Prasad Pandey, Ayodhya MP Awadhesh Prasad, Naresh Uttam Patel, Inderjit Saroj, Vishwambhar Prasad Nishad, Ram Achal Rajbhar, Omprakash Singh, and Kamal Akhtar.

Out of the nine seats, the SP has fielded four Muslim candidates, three from backward classes, and two from other deprived community communities.

Azam Khan’s inclusion in the list of star campaigners has surprised many as he is in jail these days.

Meanwhile, UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi remarked, “The Samajwadi Party has released its list of star campaigners for the UP by-elections, and the inclusion of Azam Khan’s name is surprising.”

“Azam Khan is a convicted person and cannot contest elections, yet the Samajwadi Party intends to campaign with him. Without jailed criminals, mafia goons, and scoundrels, the party cannot win the elections,” he claimed.

The BJP leader said, “Their plans will be thwarted; Azam Khan will not come out of jail. The SP still crowns Azam Khan, who has seized land from widows and poor Muslims.”