On Sunday, Asaduddin Owaisi, chief of the All India Majlis‑ul‑waqf (AIMIM), told a packed crowd in Kairana that the Samajwadi Party should rename itself "Samajwadi Yadav Parivar". He said the change was necessary to reflect the party’s shift away from Muslim candidates.
Owaisi pointed out Azamgarh and Firozabad, where Muslim seats have been eclipsed by the Yadav clan, noting the election of Akhilesh’s brother and relatives in those constituencies.
He blamed the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots on the SP’s rule, claiming around 50,000 people were displaced and that girls were attacked and children orphaned during the violence.
Owaisi accused the opposition of silence on minority issues and alleged that mosques were demolished and "half encounters" persisted under the BJP government.
The remarks arrive weeks before the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, where the Samajwadi Party is already charting its campaign strategy. The party has yet to respond to the demand, leaving voters uncertain whether the name change will materialize.