Former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin sworn in as Telangana minister amid Opposition criticism

Congress leader and former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin was sworn in as a minister in the Telangana Cabinet on Friday. This came ahead of the bye-elections in the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency on November 11.

The appointment triggered a political row in the state, with the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi claiming that it was a move by the ruling Congress to appease minorities ahead of the bye-elections.

The Jubilee Hills constituency has over one lakh Muslim voters, India Today reported.

Azharuddin had unsuccessfully contested the seat in 2023. The bye-election in Jubilee Hills was necessitated by the death of Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLA Maganti Gopinath in June.

On Friday, Governor Jishnu Dev Verma administered the oath of office to the former Indian cricket captain in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy in the Raj Bhavan.

The strength of the state Cabinet has now increased to 16, India Today reported. The state can have up to 18 ministers as per the strength of the Assembly.

Following Azharuddin’s induction, BJP leader Shashidhar Reddy claimed that the move was “nothing but an attempt to woo and garner the votes of a section of the voters in the upcoming Jubilee Hills bye-election”, the Hindustan Times reported.

He added that the induction was also a gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct, which is a set...

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