“ Ye kya Samajwadi Party ne jaahil bhar rakhe hain [has the SP inducted illiterates?],” chides Alambadi Azmi, as a party worker commits a mistake while writing the message, being dictated by Mr. Azmi for the electorate for the upcoming meeting of SP president Akhilesh Yadav in the Nizamabad constituency of Azamgarh.
Simple, sharp and straight forward, the 86-year-old MLA, the oldest legislator in Uttar Pradesh, is seeking a fifth term this time. Though he is hard on hearing, ask him if a politician has a retirement age, he quickly mentions Morarji Desai who became the Prime Minister when he was 82 and lived up to 96 years of age. “I have 10 more years to go,” said Mr. Azmi, whose thin frame barely hides his vast reserves of energy. “It is hard to keep pace with him during canvassing,” said Md. Ehasan, a young party worker. “He is an old school politician but his sane words still strike chord.” Ajay Prajapati, a BJP voter, said the old man was Chacha for everybody. “When he meets youngsters, he tells them to do namaste rather than shaking hands. During COVID, he was very active.”
When most contestants are working overtime, Mr. Azmi was at home; his solo Bolero was waiting outside. “I am with them through the year. It is time for them to make up their mind,” he said.
