Azam Khan to rejoin Samajwadi Party on December 9

Expelled Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan is all set to rejoin the party on December 9.

Khan on Saturday told mediapersons, "Now that SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has admitted his mistakes and taken suitable corrective action, I have decided to formally join the party on December 9."

He said, "Mulayam Singh Yadav has been sincerely apologetic about expelling me from the party and now he has declared that he would offer me an appropriate position in the SP hierarchy."

Khan was expelled from the party following his insistence on opposing the candidature of actor Jaya Prada as a SP nominee from his hometown Rampur during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Jaya Prada and SP leader Amar Singh were considered very close to Mulayam then.

Mulayam's sudden bonhomie with expelled Bhartiya Janata Party leader Kalyan Singh further widened the divide with Khan.

Increasing bitterness between Khan and Amar Singh eventually led to the former's ouster from the Samajwadi Party.

Khan neither joined any other party nor floated his own. But he did not lower the pitch of his anti-Amar and anti-Jaya Prada tirade.

Mulayam later realised that parting with Khan has adversely affected his Muslim support base, and he started building bridges with the leader. His expulsion was formally revoked by the party earlier in November.