Ex-cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin sworn in as minister in Telangana cabinet

Former Indian cricket captain and Congress leader Mohammad Azharuddin took oath as Telangana cabinet minister on Friday. Earlier, the Raj Bhawan had released a statement saying that Azharuddin would take oath as a minister on Friday morning and the oath will be administered governor Jishnu Dev Varma.

The news of Azharuddin’s inclusion in the Telangana cabinet had kicked up a row as the BJP vehemently opposed the move. “The proposal to give cabinet berth to Mohd Azharuddin is nothing but an attempt to woo and garner the votes of a section of the voters in the upcoming Jubilee Hills by-election and a gross violation of model code of conduct,” BJP’s Shashidhar Reddy said.

He said though the model code of conduct was not applicable to the entire city of Hyderabad, the proposal to induct Azharuddin into the state cabinet would adversely affect the by-election in the Jubilee Hills constituency, of which the former cricketer is a voter.

Shashidhar Reddy also pointed out that Azharuddin had contested as a candidate from Jubilee Hills constituency in the 2023 assembly elections. “So, offering him a ministry is nothing but a mala fide intention of the Congress to woo a section of voters in the Jubilee Hills assembly constituency,” he said.

Reacting to the BJP’s opposition, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin Thursday accused the saffron party and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of collaborating to obstruct Azharuddin’s inclusion to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s cabinet as he termed the complaint an attempt to deny minorities political representation.

Telangana Assembly has 119 legislators. The former cricketer’s appointment to the ministry is seen as a crucial step, as the Congress party has been fighting tooth and nail in the Jubilee Hills by-poll, where over a lakh Muslim voters could play a decisive role.

There were reports of request from Telangana Congress to the senior leadership of Congress to include Azharuddin in the cabinet as currently there is no representation of minorities in the cabinet. AICC also approved Azharuddin’s name.

With the induction, the former cricketers is the first minister from the minority community in Revanth Reddy’s cabinet. Another Congress leader suggested that the AICC may have shown inclination towards Azharuddin’s induction in view of the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls, where Muslim voters constitute a significant bloc in the eastern state.

Azharuddin was nominated as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) under the Governor’s quota by the Telangana government in August last week. He unsuccessfully contested from Jubilee Hills Assembly segment in 2023 polls. 

HINDUSTAN TIMES