Hyderabad: Recently, Mohammed Azharuddin, a former cricketer turned politician, met with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi. This meeting follows the announcement by PCC President B Mahesh Kumar Goud that the party hasn’t yet chosen a candidate for the Jubilee Hills bypolls, sparking interest in political circles.
The party is keen to select a strong candidate for the upcoming by-election in Jubilee Hills. They are conducting surveys to evaluate the strengths of various candidates. Although Azharuddin has expressed his intention to run for the Congress party, the leadership wants to ensure they back a winner.
PCC President made it clear that claims about prioritizing local candidates, as mentioned by City Incharge Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, do not hold. Alongside Ministers Vivek Venkatswamy and Tummala Nageswara Rao, Ponnam is responsible for the bypoll efforts in Jubilee Hills. The president emphasized that the party will follow a comprehensive selection process, which includes reviewing Azharuddin’s application once the notification is out.
Party insiders suggest that former Mayor Bonthu Rammohan Rao is also a strong contender. Azharuddin is working hard to gain the support of AICC leaders and is actively trying to win over the state leadership, especially during the recent campaign for 42% BC reservation in Delhi. Other candidates under consideration for the Congress ticket include V Naveen Yadav, who ran for AIMIM in 2014, and C Rohin Reddy, who recently contested from Amberpet.
In the 2023 Assembly polls, Azharuddin lost to BRS candidate Maganti Gopinath by 16,337 votes. The AIMIM candidate Rashed Farazuddin received 7,848 votes, while BJP’s L Deepak Reddy secured 25,866 votes. Azharuddin attributed his loss to the vote split caused by AIMIM. The bypolls are required due to Gopinath’s passing.
