Mohammad Azharuddin to join Telangana cabinet before Jubilee Hills by-election: Reports

Hyderabad: Congress leader and former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin is likely to be inducted into the Telangana Cabinet before the Jubilee Hills by-election, sources said on Thursday.

The present Cabinet comprises 15 members, including Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy with no representation from minorities. As per the provisions there is room for three more members in the Cabinet.

The Telangana Legislative Assembly has 119 legislators.

The former cricketer's appointment to the ministry, if confirmed, 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.

The by-poll is necessitated by the death of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath in June this year, following a heart attack.

“There has been a request from Telangana Congress to the party high command to induct Azharuddin into the cabinet as currently there is no representation of minorities in it. The AICC also approved Azharuddin's name. The swearing-in ceremony is likely to be held the day after tomorrow (Friday),” the sources told PTI.

If inducted, the former cricketer would become the first minister from a minority community in Revanth Reddy's cabinet.

Another Congress leader suggested that the AICC's support for Azharuddin' induction may also be driven by 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. However, Governor Jishnu Dev Varma is yet to clear the appointment.

He unsuccessfully contested from Jubilee Hills Assembly segment in 2023 polls.

"Appeasement, violation of the model code of conduct": BJP

Telangana BJP President N Ramchander Rao has slammed the Congress government in the State for its decision to induct former Indian Cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin into the Cabinet, terming it as an act of appeasement and also a violation of the moral code of conduct Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

"While the Jubilee Hills by-election campaigns are going on, the Congress government in Telangana wants to make Mohammad Azharuddin a Minister in the state Cabinet. This is nothing but an act of appeasement and also a violation of the model code of conduct... BJP opposes this move," Ramchander Rao told ANI.