Congress leader and former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin took oath as minister. Governor Jishnu Dev Verma administered him the oath. The Congress government led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had proposed to include Mohammad Azharuddin in the cabinet. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had expressed strong objection to this. BJP linked the decision to Jubilee Hills Bypoll and called it a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

BJP’s Election Commission Affairs Committee Chairman Marri Sashidhar Reddy met Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudarshan Reddy. He had demanded to stop the swearing-in ceremony. BJP says that Azharuddin becoming a minister is an attempt to influence voters before the Jubilee Hills by-election. Marri Shashidhar Reddy said that Azharuddin is a voter of Jubilee Hills and was also a Congress candidate in 2023. In such a situation, this step is an attempt to sway the voters in favor of a particular class. This step of BJP is completely against the election code of conduct.

#WATCH Hyderabad, Telangana: Congress leader and former Cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin takes oath as Minister at Raj Bhavan. Governor Jishnu Dev Verma administers the oath to him.

(Video Source: I&PR Telangana) pic.twitter.com/oGRIydcCVe

— ANI (@ANI) October 31, 2025

BJP cannot tolerate the success of minority leader

Congress gave a sharp reply to BJP’s allegations calling it communal politics. State Congress spokesperson and MP Chamla Kiran Kumar Reddy said that BJP cannot see a prominent minority leader coming into the cabinet. She is inciting communal sentiments in Jubilee Hills. Congress also accused BJP of making a secret agreement with Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) to prevent Congress from strengthening its secular image.

On the matter, Congress spokesperson Addanki Dayakar said that Azharuddin is the pride of the country. He made India proud on the cricket field. Making communal comments on him is extremely unfortunate. He reminded BJP that BJP itself had expanded the cabinet 20 days before the by-elections in Rajasthan. It was not considered a violation of the code of conduct at that time.

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Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin is soon going to become a cabinet minister in the Telangana government. Azharuddin has been associated with Congress since 2009 and has also been an MP from Moradabad region. Actually, he will not be the first cricketer who is going to get a ministerial post. Here you can see the list of all those cricketers who have held some ministerial post or the other.

Navjot Singh Sidhu

Navjot Singh Sidhu was elected MLA from East Amritsar seat in the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections. At that time he was made the Minister of Tourism and Local Bodies in the Punjab Government. However, this ministerial post was taken away from him in 2019.

Manoj Tiwari

Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwari joined All India Trinamool Congress in 2021. He became MLA from Shibpur seat in the 2021 Bengal Assembly elections. He was given the post of Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs in the Bengal Government.

Lakshmi Ratna Shukla

All-rounder Lakshmi Ratna Shukla played 3 ODI matches for India in 1999. He was elected MLA from North Howrah seat in the 2016 Bengal Assembly elections. When Mamata Banerjee became the Chief Minister of Bengal for the second time, Lakshmi Ratna Shukla was made the State Sports and Youth Services Minister.

Manoharsingh Jadeja

Manoharsingh Jadeja was elected MLA thrice in the Gujarat government of Congress. During this period, he was also the Finance Minister, Youth Affairs Minister and Health Minister. Jadeja could not debut for the Indian team, but took 614 runs and 5 wickets in 14 first class matches.

These cricketers remained in politics

Apart from these, many Indian cricketers have entered politics after retirement. The current head coach of the Indian team, Gautam Gambhir was elected MP from East Delhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He left politics after the completion of his term in 2024. Apart from him, Yusuf Pathan, Kirti Azad, Chetan Chauhan, Harbhajan Singh have also entered politics.

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Former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin, who has hit sixes on the cricket pitch, is also seen hitting sixes on the political pitch. There is news that he will be included in the Telangana cabinet. He will take oath as minister on October 31.

Important decision during election period
The Congress government has taken the decision to include Azharuddin in the cabinet at the same time when by-elections are to be held in Jubilee Hills on November 11. The number of Muslim votes in this seat is quite high and it is believed that Azharuddin’s entry will strengthen the support of the minority community in favor of Congress.

Azharuddin had recently reached the Legislative Council
In August this year, Azharuddin was nominated as a Legislative Council member from the Governor quota. This nomination happened when the Supreme Court had canceled the two earlier nominations of Kodandaram and Aamir Ali Khan. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had included the names of both Kodandaram and Azharuddin in the revised list.

Trying to send a message to the Muslim community
Till now there was no Muslim minister in the Congress government. Because of this, the resentment of the minority community was visible from inside and outside the party. By making Azharuddin a minister, Congress has tried to give the message that it wants to give representation to all sections.

Revanth Reddy cabinet will now have 16 ministers
After Azharuddin’s inclusion, the number of ministers in Revanth Reddy cabinet will increase to 16. There can be a total of 18 members (including the Chief Minister) in the Telangana Council of Ministers. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was sworn in on December 7, 2023, when Congress defeated Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the elections. The first cabinet was formed on the same day, while the first expansion took place in June 2025, in which three new ministers were added.

Azharuddin is related to Jubilee Hills
Azharuddin had contested the 2023 assembly elections as a Congress candidate from Jubilee Hills seat, but lost to BRS’s Maganti Gopinath. By-election is being held on this seat after the death of Gopinath in June this year. Congress is trying its best to win this seat and it is believed that Azharuddin’s popularity can prove beneficial for the party.

Azharuddin’s journey in politics
Former Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin entered politics from Congress in 2009 and won the Lok Sabha elections from Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh). In 2014, he contested the elections from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur seat of Rajasthan, but lost. In 2018, he was made the working president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee and in 2023 he contested the assembly elections from Jubilee Hills.

Indian National Congress has declared Naveen Yadav as the party candidate for the upcoming by-election from Jubilee Hills seat of Telangana Assembly. All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary K. C. Venugopal has officially announced this on Wednesday (October 8, 2025).

The Congress party wrote in a statement, ‘Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the candidature of Naveen Yadav for the by-election on Jubilee Hills Assembly seat of Telangana.’

Politics is heated regarding Jubilee Hills assembly seat

Politics is heated regarding the by-election of Jubilee Hills Assembly seat of Hyderabad because during the Assembly elections in the year 2023, the Congress Party had given ticket to Mohammad Azharuddin, who came to politics from the world of cricket. Who lost the election to Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) candidate Maganti Gopinath by more than 16 thousand votes.

Azharuddin was asking for ticket from Jubilee Hills

In 2023, Maganti Gopinath became MLA by winning the election from Jubilee Hills assembly seat. However, he died after some time. Since then this seat is vacant. At the same time, Azharuddin was once again demanding a ticket from the Congress Party for the by-election on Jubilee Hills seat. He says that the people of Jubilee Hills assembly constituency have always loved me a lot.

The former cricketer said, I got 64,000 votes in the last assembly elections. This shows people’s love for me. Winning and losing is part of life. This is my constituency.

Azharuddin, a veteran leader of the Congress Party and former captain of the Indian cricket team, had given this statement at a time when the ticket was not given by the Congress Party. After the announcement of the ticket, discord may be seen within the Congress.

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