Abu Azmi is the oneman army of the Samajwadi Party in Maharashtra. Speaking to Jist, the three time MLA emphasised Samajwadi Party's compulsion to ally with the Maha Vikas Aghadi to keep the BJP at bay.

Azmi, who is also a former Rajya Sabha MP, is the SP candidate from
Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Assembly seat in Mumbai. He said the Congress has a history of leaving the Samajwadi Party in the lurch in Maharashtra.

He said in 2009, the SPCongress seat sharing was agreed upon by Ahmed Patel but was later called off under pressure from the Congress high command.

In 2014, Abu Azmi claims he was approached by the then Congress CM Prithviraj Chavan. After an initial agreement, even his telephone calls went unanswered.

This time the Samajwadi Party is contesting two seats as an MVA partner and seven on its own. Abu Azmi is fighting against veteran NCP leader Nawab Malik from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, which is a Muslim dominated seat in Mumbai.