Ahead of the Jubilee Hills byepoll, the Telangana government has decided to induct former Indian Cricketer and Congress leader Mohammed Azharuddin into the Cabinet as a Minister on Friday, October 31.
The move is widely viewed as a strategic effort by the Congress to garner Muslim support ahead of the November 11 bye-election, as the Jubilee Hills Assembly segment has a sizeable Muslim voter base. It must be noted that the Congress party has not inducted any Muslim member as a Minister into the Cabinet so far, leading to criticism from the community over representation.
Azharuddin was earlier nominated to the Legislative Council under the Governor’s quota in August, following the Supreme Court’s annulment of previous nominations of Kodandaram and Amer Ali Khan. With his inclusion, the Revanth Reddy Cabinet’s strength will rise to 16 ministers, out of the maximum permissible 18 including the Chief Minister.
A former Lok Sabha MP from Moradabad, Azharuddin had contested the 2023 Assembly elections from Jubilee Hills but lost to BRS candidate Maganti Gopinath, whose demise in June led to the upcoming bypoll.
The former India cricket captain, who joined the Congress in 2009, began his political career by winning the Moradabad Lok Sabha seat, but lost from Tonk–Sawai Madhopur in 2014. In 2018, he was appointed Working President of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) before contesting the 2023 Assembly election.