Hyderabad: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here has objected to Congress MLC and ex-cricketer Mohd Azharuddin’s reported inclusion into the Telangana cabinet claiming it is appeasement of minorities before the upcoming November 11 Jubilee Hills by election.
Chairman of BJP’s state election affairs committee Marri Shashidhar Reddy and BJP MLA Payal Shanker wrote a letter to the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer stating that the decision to induct Azharuddin into the cabinet is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). “We have just noticed through TV and newspapers that there is a proposal to offer ministry to Mr Mohamed Azharuddin,” said their complaint.
It added that the reported proposal is being done to woo a “section of voters”, without naming Muslims, who are believed to be about 22% in terms of voters in the Jubilee Hills seat. The BJP leaders sought the withdrawal of any such decision.
Kammas offer support to Congress
In a boost to the ruling Congress, members of the Kamma community last week also announced their support to it for the upcoming Jubile Hill by election. Members of the community, which is a dominant caste (in Andhra), met chief minister Revanth Reddy and brought to his attention about their problems and also a few demands.
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 state elections and hence winning that will of utmost importance for it.
While the BRS is sitting strong in the Jubilee Hills bypoll, the party has been currently hit by internal rebellion. K Kavitha, ex-MLC and daughter of BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), was suspended from the party on September 2 for her criticism of BRS leaders (and her cousin) Harish Rao and Santosh. Kavitha a day later on September 3 then resigned from the BRS and her MLC post.
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 Assembly elections and nearly half the vote share in the subsequent 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
