Rampur, Oct 31 : In a rare and unfiltered conversation from his Rampur residence, Samajwadi Party stalwart Azam Khan, fresh out of 23 months behind bars, unleashed a torrent of insights on his unbreakable bond with Akhilesh Yadav, and the gritty realities of his post-incarceration life.

The 76-year-old firebrand, once a towering figure in Uttar Pradesh's corridors of power, spoke to IANS with the poise of a survivor, blending sharp wit, philosophical musings, and a fierce call for minority rights.

Khan, released from Sitapur jail in September amid several criminal cases he dismisses as "fabricated vendettas," painted a grim picture of India's democratic backslide.

"Democracy felt like a distant dream in Varanasi jail," he recounted, eyes narrowing.

"Fear gripped the nation'officials clocked in on time not from duty, but dread. The INDIA Bloc can topple the NDA if it sheds its vote-bank cynicism and embraces true alliances."

On Bihar's elections, Khan predicted a Mahagathbandhan edge, slamming the NDA's "burden-shifting tactics."

"A skullcap from a pocket doesn't make a leader pro-Muslim," he quipped, decrying tokenism.

His rapport with Akhilesh emerged as a cornerstone. On rumours of rifts? "Media fairy tales," Khan scoffed. "Our 45-year saga with the Yadav family endures. He visited jail multiple times - bonds like ours aren't visit-dependent."

Reflecting on Mulayam Singh Yadav's absence, Khan sighed: "Netaji alive might've sparked agitations, but today's weaponised laws demand caution. Injustice is my fate, yet Kapil Sibal's courtroom magic quashed 27 FIRs in minutes."

On his own travails, he rejected revenge fantasies: "If SP returns in 2027, justice'not vendetta'for Sambhal, Bareilly victims."

Financially battered by IT raids that netted a paltry Rs 3,500 from his pockets and scant gold from his wife's, Khan relies on dual pensions from eight straight Rampur wins.

"No seat-hopping for me; votes swelled each time," he said.

On retirement, Khan laughed. "You journalists flock to flickering lamps. Mine burns on'health's frailty is temporary. When the game's afoot, I'll swing the bat."

On life's perils, he invoked fate. "Enemies plot in vain; I've dodged bullets, pistols tumbling at my feet. Allah decides."

Khan's clarion call, 'Muslims aren't mere ballots. We've backed welfare governments in UP.

/IANS