Will abide by party’s call: Azharuddin on Jubilee Hills bypoll candidacy

Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader Mohammad Azharuddin expressed confidence that he is in the race for the upcoming Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency by-election. However, he emphasised that he would abide by the decision of the party leadership.

Azharuddin made these remarks on Tuesday when he arrived at Gandhi Bhavan to participate in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meetings.

Speaking to the media on the occasion, he said, “I contested from Jubilee Hills as the Congress candidate in the last Assembly elections but was defeated. Even now, I am hoping for the party ticket. I have conveyed my thoughts to the leadership. I will remain committed to whatever decision the party makes.”

After the demise of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Maganti Gopinath earlier this month, the seat for Jubilee Hills MLA remains vacant, calling for a by-election.

Winning the Jubilee Hills by-poll is crucial for the Congress after it failed to win any of the 24 Assembly constituencies in the Greater Hyderabad area.

During the 2023 Assembly elections, Azharuddin had lost to Maganti Gopinath by a margin of 16,337 votes and came in second. Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Lanka Deepak Reddy managed to secure over 25000 votes, while AIMIM candidate Rasheed Farazuddin came fourth with 7848 votes.