Hyderabad: Newly inducted cabinet minister and ex-Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin was alloted the minorities and public enterprises portfolios by the Telangana government. The public enterprises ministry was earlier held by chief minister Revanth Reddy, while fellow cabinet minister had held the minorities welfare portfolio now.

Azharuddin was sworn in as a cabinet minister on October 31, and was the first Muslim face to be inducted into the Congress government in Telangana after it came to power in December 2023. The ex-cricketer was appointed as an MLC weeks earlier and his appointment as a minister was imminent given that the ruling party had no Muslim face in the cabinet.

In fact, his appointment as a minister comes just days before the November 11 Jubilee Hills by-election, which is a crucial Assembly seat for the ruling Congress to win. Azharuddin was nominated as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) under the Governor’s quota, paving the way for his induction into the state cabinet.​​

The upcoming Jubilee Hills bypoll is going to have high stakes for the ruling Congress which is looking to wrest it from the main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). The by election has been necessitated after the late BRS legislator Maganti Gopinath passed away recently. The ruling party here was unable to win any seat in the Greater Hyderabad area in the 2023 Telangana elections and hence winning that will of utmost importance for it.

Maganti Gopinath’s wife has been nominated by the BRS for the by-poll, while the ruling party has given the ticket to local face Naveen Yadav.

Jubilee Hills by-poll may be triangular fight

In the 2023 elections for the Jubilee Hills seat, Gopinath secured 80,549 votes, while Congress candidate and former Indian cricket team captain Mohd Azharuddin came second with 64,212 votes. Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Lanka Deepak Reddy also managed to secure over 25000 votes, while AIMIM candidate Rasheed Farazuddin came fourth with 7848 votes.

The BJP has given the ticket to Lankala Deepak Reddy, who had unsuccessfully also contested in the 2023 polls. This time the contest will also likely be triangular, as the BJP has made some inroads in the city and state. The party managed to get 20% of the vote share in the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections and nearly half the vote share in the subsequent 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

From cricket to politics

Born on February 8, 1963, in Hyderabad, Azharuddin completed his schooling at All Saints High School in Abids and graduated with a B.Com from Nizam College. Inspired by his maternal uncle Zainulabuddin, he took up cricket and made his international debut in 1984.

He created a sensation by scoring centuries in each of his first three Test matches and later captained the Indian team in 1989.

Over a 16-year cricketing career, Azharuddin played 99 Tests and 334 One Day Internationals for India, becoming one of the most stylish batsmen of his time.

📰 Crime Today News is proudly sponsored by DRYFRUIT & CO – A Brand by eFabby Global LLC

Design & Developed by Yes Mom Hosting