Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on Sunday resigned from the party’s highest decision-making body, its parliamentary board, and also from the post of party’s national general secretary, even as colleague Amar Singh described him as “an elder brother” — a clear departure from his earlier strident stance against him.

His resignation came while the SP parliamentary board meeting was on in the Capital to chart out the party’s post-poll strategy. Sources said the meeting did not deliberate on this issue in detail and allegedly decided to put it on the backburner as Azam’s defiance made no difference to the party candidate in Rampur. Also, the board did not contemplate any disciplinary action against him.

“Azam Khan has been like an elder brother to me and he will continue to remain like that for me,” SP general secretary Amar Singh told reporters after the meeting without giving any more details about the party’s decision on Azam Khan. In the run-up to the polls in Rampur, he had publicly taken on Azam.

A six-time UP MLA and one-time Rajya Sabha MP, Azam is one of the founders of the party along with party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Azam had taken strong objection to the party re-nominating the sitting Rampur MP, Jaya Prada, during elections, and raised the banner of revolt against her under the garb of his protest against the party’s tie-up with former chief minister and BJP leader Kalyan Singh, whom he held as the main culprit for the Babri demolition.

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