Muslims make up around 30% of the constituency’s voters, making the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen a crucial player in the by-election
HYDERABAD — A controversy has emerged surrounding former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s candidacy for the Jubilee Hills by-election in the historic city of Hyderabad in Telangana. Azharuddin, who is also the working president of the state Congress, declared himself the party’s candidate for the by-election, citing the backing of the party high command, including AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other influential leaders.
Speaking to the media at his residence here recently, Azharuddin dismissed all rumours about him being sidelined by Congress and asserted he will contest the by-poll. However, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief Mahesh Goud has maintained that the final decision rests with the party high command.
The Jubilee Hills by-election was necessitated by the death of sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Azharuddin had contested against Gopinath in the 2023 assembly elections and lost by a margin of over 16,000 votes.
“The people of Jubilee Hills have always bestowed me with a lot of love. I had received nearly 64,000 votes (during the previous assembly elections). This shows the love of people for me. Winning and losing are a part of life. This is my constituency, and I will contest from here again,” Azharuddin was quoted by media reports as saying.
Muslims make up around 30% of the constituency’s voters, making the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) a crucial player in the by-election.
There are speculations that Azharuddin might not get the ticket due to his performance in the last election, which was considered underwhelming. Other names being considered for the ticket include Faheem Qureshi, a close aide of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, and Nampally contestant Feroz Khan.
A senior Congress official who worked alongside Mohammad Azharuddin in the previous election has said that while the former Indian cricket captain has been overseeing the constituency, it does not guarantee him a party ticket this time.
