The Congress believes that placing a prominent Muslim face in the cabinet could rekindle minority enthusiasm and turn the tide in favour of its candidate, Naveen Yadav, in the Jubilee Hills by-election.
Published Oct 29, 2025 | 6:09 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 29, 2025 | 6:09 PM
Azharuddin’s name was kept off the shortlist of candidates for Jubilee Hills to avoid a repeat of 2023, when he lost the seat to Maganti Gopinath by a margin of 16,337 votes.
Synopsis: The Congress government in Telangana is set to induct former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin into the state cabinet, in what is widely seen as a desperate bid to consolidate Muslim support ahead of the crucial Jubilee Hills by-election. Although Azharuddin does not hold a legislative seat, his induction is intended to counter a sympathy surge for the Bharat Rashtra Samithi. However, analysts warn that the move could easily backfire, being perceived as last-minute tokenism that risks alienating non-Muslim and party loyalist voters.
The ruling Congress in Telangana has decided to induct former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin into the state cabinet, even though he does not hold a seat in either the Assembly or the Legislative Council.
The decision, confirmed to South First by senior party sources, is being viewed as a calculated attempt to reassure the Muslim community that the Congress remains its strongest ally, especially as the high-stakes Jubilee Hills by-election has turned into a do-or-die contest for Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
With three berths vacant in the 18-member cabinet, the Congress high command sees former MP Azharuddin’s induction as a symbolic masterstroke, aimed at regaining the narrative from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which appears to have taken the lead in the campaign.
A sympathy wave is said to be building around Maganti Sunitha Gopinath, widow of the late three-time BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath, even as anti-incumbency against the Revanth Reddy government grows across the state.
Party insiders admit the Congress is under pressure, with the 1.3 lakh-strong Muslim vote in Jubilee Hills emerging as the decisive factor.
The late Maganti Gopinath had turned Jubilee Hills into his bastion. First elected in 2014 on a TDP ticket, he later joined the BRS and comfortably retained the seat in 2018 and 2023.
His successive wins were driven by a tacit understanding with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), whose loyal cadre has long influenced the constituency’s minority vote. That alliance had made Jubilee Hills virtually impregnable.
Since coming to power in December 2023, the Congress has worked overtime to break that bond. Lavish development packages for the Old City—the AIMIM’s traditional stronghold—were offered as inducements.
The gamble seems to have paid off. The AIMIM has stayed out of the by-election fray, an unmistakable signal that its ground cadre may quietly support the Congress candidate, Vallala Naveen Yadav, a low-profile Backward Classes leader.
Ironically, Yadav himself contested the 2014 election on an AIMIM ticket, losing to Gopinath by 9,242 votes after polling 41,656 votes against Gopinath’s 50,898.
Yet, the Congress is leaving nothing to chance. On 30 August, the Revanth Reddy cabinet forwarded the names of Azharuddin and Telangana Jana Samithi chief Prof M Kodandaram for nomination to the Legislative Council.
Although Governor Jishnu Dev Varma has yet to clear the file, the party has decided to move ahead with Azharuddin’s induction. Under constitutional norms, a minister has six months to secure election to either House, giving the Congress enough time to formalise his position later.
Sources say Azharuddin’s name was kept off the shortlist of candidates for Jubilee Hills to avoid a repeat of 2023, when he lost the seat to Gopinath by a margin of 16,337 votes.
Once a national heartthrob and youth icon, Azharuddin’s political sheen has dimmed, and his connect with the constituency has weakened.
Still, the Congress believes that placing a prominent Muslim face in the cabinet could rekindle minority enthusiasm and turn the tide in favour of Naveen Yadav.
Sceptics, however, warn that the Congress’s eleventh-hour tokenism could backfire.
They recall how the previous BRS government fell into a similar trap during the 2021 Huzurabad by-election.
Ahead of that poll, then Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced the Dalit Bandhu scheme—₹10 lakh per Dalit family—along with a massive ₹2,000–₹3,000 crore infrastructure push: roads, bridges, markets, schools and colleges.
The plan failed spectacularly. The scheme benefited a few, while many others felt left out. Meanwhile, forward communities, especially Reddys, bristled at what they saw as blatant favouritism.
When the ballots were opened, the BJP’s Eatala Rajender, expelled from the BRS, swept to victory by 23,855 votes, shattering KCR’s aura of invincibility.
Analysts fear the Congress may now be walking into its own Huzurabad moment.
Non-Muslim voters—particularly upper castes and certain Backward Class blocs—could view Azharuddin’s induction as appeasement, alienating more votes than it attracts.
Adding to the unease, senior Muslim leaders such as Md Ali Shabber, former minister and now advisor to the Chief Minister, were expecting cabinet representation. The decision to parachute Azharuddin in could stir resentment within the party’s minority ranks.
Meanwhile, the BRS is tapping into the sympathy factor surrounding Sunitha Gopinath, while targeting the Revanth Reddy government over unfulfilled promises, including delayed farm loan waivers and governance lapses.
As the campaign reaches fever pitch, the Congress is pulling out all the stops. Azharuddin’s entry into the cabinet may well be the party’s boldest outreach to minorities since it took office.
Whether it rekindles Muslim loyalty—or becomes Revanth Reddy’s own Huzurabad-style setback—remains the question hanging over Jubilee Hills.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
