Former captain of the Indian cricket team and former MP from Uttar Pradesh, Mohammed Azharuddin expressed his happiness over Telangana cabinet’s decision to nominate him as as Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) under the Governor’s quota. He said that he is ‘deeply honoured and humbled’ by the Cabinet’s decision.
He took to ‘X’ to thank AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, top Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K.C. Venugopal for their ‘trust and blessings’ and assured that “I remain committed to serving our state with integrity and dedication.”
He also said that he will be also grateful to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud and AICC in-charge for Telangana Meenakshi Natrajan for their guidance and support.
The Telangana Cabinet on Saturday decided to nominate Azharuddin and M. Kodandaram as MLCs under the Governor’s quota and to recommend their names to the Governor for nomination as MLCs.
The move came two weeks after the Supreme Court stayed the appointment of Kodandaram and Amer Ali Khan as MLCs under the Governor’s quota. Both Kodandaram and Amer Ali Khan were sworn in as MLCs about a year ago.
Mohammed Azharuddin was elected to the Lok Sabha from Moradabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh in 2009, a few months after he joined the Congress party. The Congress had fielded him from Rajasthan’s Madhopur in 2014, but he lost the election. Since then he has been maintaining close association with Gandhi’s family.
In 2018, he was appointed as the Working President of the Telangana Congress. He had campaigned for the party in the 2018 Assembly elections. Last year, he tried to contest from Secunderabad constituency in Lok Sabha polls, but Chief Minister Revanth Reddy tactfully fielded BRS MLA Danam Nagender, who had lost in the polls, against union minister and BJP candidate G Kishan Reddy.
Soon after Jubli Hills BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath died, Azharuddin announced himself that he will be contesting as Congress candidate in the forthcoming by-elections. Both Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and TPCC chief Mahesh Kumar Goud remained silent, stating the party is yet to decide its candidate.
But, Azharuddin made hectic efforts to get party nomination taking advantage from his cloud with Gandhi’s family. In a tactical move, Revanth Reddy suddenly nominated him to the Legislative Council, paving way to field his own nominee from Jubilee Hills.