LUCKNOW: Among the old guards in the feud-battered Samjawadi Party, it is Azam Khan who faces a massive dilemma — should he side with Mulayam Singh Yadav with whom he has been associated since the formation of the SP, or go with Akhilesh Yadav with whom he has worked as a senior minister.Azam is in two minds because his son Abdullah Azam has been given a ticket by Akhilesh from the Suar assembly constituency, while his wife was sent to the Rajya Sabha in 2014 on Mulayam's direction.Ever since the family wrangling came out in the open about four months back, Azam has remained neutral. He didn't attend the SP meeting of October 24 where Akhilesh and Shivpal engaged in a war of words and also stayed away when Akhilesh embarked on an election campaign on November 1."He understood the gravity of the situation and thought fit to remain silent," says a close aide of Azam.But when the split became evident, Azam donned the role of a mediator between Mulayam and Akhilesh. On December 30, when Mulayam sacked Akhilesh along with RS MP Ram Gopal Yadav for calling a party convention, it was Azam who convinced the SP patriarch to take back his decision. Azam's efforts worked and Mulayam agreed to revoke the expulsion of Akhilesh and Ram Gopal.A day later on January 1, Ram Gopal Yadav convened a party session where Akhilesh was elected SP national president, replacing Mulayam. Even as Akhilesh's supporters staged a coup at the SP office the same day, Azam rushed to Akhilesh's residence. He mediated a phone conversation between Mulayam and Akhilesh. Soon, Akhilesh drove to his father's residence, raising speculations of a possible patch-up. But Azam's effort failed as Akhilesh remained adamant over his anointment as party president.That only explained Azam's repeated statement that "Mulayam humare neta hain, aur Akhilesh CM hain..."

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