Former Indian cricket captain and Congress leader Mohammad Azharuddin was sworn in as a Telangana cabinet minister on Friday. Earlier, the Raj Bhavan had announced that Governor Jishnu Dev Varma would administer the oath of office to Azharuddin in the morning ceremony.
The announcement of Azharuddin’s inclusion in the Telangana cabinet sparked a political row, with the BJP strongly opposing the move. BJP leader Shashidhar Reddy claimed that the decision to appoint Azharuddin was an attempt to attract a specific voter base ahead of the Jubilee Hills by-election, calling it a violation of the model code of conduct.
He argued that while the code of conduct did not cover the entire city of Hyderabad, the move could still influence the by-election in the Jubilee Hills constituency, where Azharuddin himself is a registered voter. Reddy also reminded that Azharuddin had contested from the same constituency during the 2023 assembly elections, alleging that the Congress party’s decision to offer him a cabinet position was driven by electoral motives.
Responding to the BJP’s criticism, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin accused the BJP and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of working together to block Azharuddin’s induction. He said their objections were an attempt to deny political representation to minorities.
The Telangana Assembly currently has 119 members. Azharuddin’s appointment is being viewed as a strategic move by the Congress, which is engaged in a fierce contest in the Jubilee Hills by-election, where over one lakh Muslim voters are expected to play a key role.
Reports suggest that the Telangana Congress had urged the party’s central leadership to include Azharuddin in the cabinet, noting that there was no minority representation at present. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) subsequently approved his appointment.
With his induction, Azharuddin becomes the first minister from the minority community in Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s cabinet. Party insiders also believe that the AICC’s decision could have been influenced by the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, where Muslim voters make up a significant portion of the electorate.
Azharuddin had earlier been nominated as a Member of the Legislative Council under the Governor’s quota in August. He had contested unsuccessfully from the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency in the 2023 elections.
