Hyderabad: Mohammad Azharuddin, former Indian cricket captain and former MP, in unlikely to run for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat in the next elections, sources have said.
Some top leaders, including N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Telangana Pradesh Congress committee president, had gone out of their way to get Azharuddin to contest the elections, offering him the chance to pick his preferred seat in Telangana.
However, some other leaders who include Mohammad Ali Shabbir, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, had sought to get him to vie for the Hyderabad seat.
“If he agrees to our suggestion, then we will recommend his name to [the] high command and get him nominated,” Shabbir had said.
Officially, Azharuddin has said he will abide by the decision of the party’s high command but sources close to him have ruled out him running for the Hyderabad seat.
Shabbir and other like-minded leaders believe that Congress has a good chance of wresting the Hyderabad seat from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) party, a view Azharuddin’s friends and advisers don’t share.
“[The] MIM has been winning the seat for the last 35 years and sitting MP Asaduddin Owaisi is a formidable leader with a committed vote bank,” a source close to Azhar said.
“His contesting will be a [waste] of time and resources. There are other seats where Azharuddin will have a better chance, like Secunderabad.”
Sources have also factored in the former cricket star’s personal relationship with Owaisi as affecting his decision. The two have reportedly been good friends for a long time.
The idea of Azharuddin making an entrance on Telangana’s political scene was floated at a function in Charminar, Hyderabad, earlier this week where he was honoured with ‘Rajiv Gandhi Sadhbhavna Award’.
Many Congress leaders made a public appeal to Azharuddin to become active in the politics of his home state, some to which he is said to have responded to positively.
Azharuddin has been active in the Congress since 2009 when he was elected Lok Sabha member for Muradabad, Uttar Pradesh.
However, when he was shifted to Swai Madhopur in 2014, he was defeated by a BJP candidate.
If the Congress nominates him to represent Telangana, it will be the first time the cricket star will be contesting from his home state.
Interestingly his brother-in-law is an active leader in the Congress party’s Telangana wing.
Party leaders hope that by roping in Azharuddin, they will not only strengthen Congress’ prospects but also attract youth to join the party’s ranks.
