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The Telangana Cabinet on Saturday, August 30, sanctioned Professor M Kodandaram and former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin for nomination to the Legislative Council under the Governor’s quota.
The decision comes a couple of weeks after the Supreme Court, on August 15, annulled the earlier nominations of Kodandaram, the founder of Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS), a regional party, and Amer Ali Khan, the news editor of Urdu newspaper The Siasat Daily.
The stay stemmed from a petition filed by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Dasoju Sravan and Kurra Satyanarayana, challenging the nominations. Both Sravan and Satyanarayana were earlier recommended by the BRS government in August 2023, but their nominations were rejected by then-Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, citing their political affiliations.
When they appealed in March 2024, the Telangana High Court quashed both the Governor’s rejection of the BRS nominees and the subsequent nominations of Kodandaram and Khan.
The Supreme Court in mid August, had stated that it was improper for Kodandaram and Khan to be sworn in after the Telangana High Court’s orders.
The move has come as a surprise as Azharuddin was Congress’ touted choice for the Jubilee Hills by-election following the death of former Jubilee Hills MLA Maganti Gopinath. Azharuddin had contested from the constituency in the 2023 Assembly elections and lost.