The induction of Azharuddin 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.
Published Oct 31, 2025 | 1:52 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 31, 2025 | 1:53 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: Congress leader Mohammad Azharuddin took the oath as a minister of the Telangana Cabinet. The Congress high command sees former MP Azharuddin’s induction as a symbolic masterstroke, aimed at regaining the narrative from the BRS, which appears to have taken the lead in the Jubile Hills by-election campaign.
Congress leader and former Indian international cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin took the oath as a minister of the Telangana Cabinet on Friday, 31 October.
The induction of Azharuddin to the state Cabinet 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.
Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma administered the oath of office to Azharuddin.
By filling one of the three vacant berths 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 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.
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 connection 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.
