Varanasi: Alambadi Azami, the eldest member of the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha and a five-time Samajwadi Party MLA from Nizamabad, died after a prolonged illness at his residence in Azamgarh late Wednesday. He was 92.Expressing deep grief, SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav wrote on X, “The news of the demise of Samajwadi Party’s popular MLA from Nizamabad in Azamgarh, Alambadi Sahab, is painful. May God grant peace to the departed soul. May the grief-stricken family get the strength to bear this unbearable sorrow. Humble tribute!”Azami’s son, Bablu, said that as his father had been unwell for some time and had been admitted to a hospital in Lucknow for several days. After doctors found little improvement in his condition, he was sent back home. He breathed his last at his residence in Kurmi Tola on Wednesday night, Bablu said.The Janaje-ki-Namaz was offered at Jamiyatur Rashad, while the burial took place at the new graveyard with full honour. His death has caused deep grief across the region. Political and social figures described his passing as an irreparable loss to Azamgarh’s politics.Born in 1936, Alambadi originally hailed from Bindwal, Jairajpur (Bilariyaganj), although he lived with his family at their home in Matabaganj in Azamgarh city. After completing mechanical engineering, he worked in Gorakhpur. However, influenced by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose, he chose social service and politics as the path of his life.His political journey began from the Nizamabad Assembly seat. He first won the seat in 1996 and retained it in 2002. In the 2007 Assembly election, he lost to BSP candidate Angad Yadav. However, he made a strong comeback, winning the seat again in 2012, 2017 and 2022. His legacy remains closely associated with clean politics, accessibility and unwavering commitment to the people he served so devotedly.As soon as news of his demise spread, SP functionaries and workers, representatives of various political parties, members of social organisations and a large number of locals reached his home. From Thursday morning, a steady stream of people arrived to pay their respects. They offered flowers on his mortal remains and paid emotional tributes to the departed leader.
