Telangana to nominate Azharuddin, Kondandaram to legislative council

Hyderabad, Aug 30 (PTI) The Telangana government on Saturday decided to nominate former cricketer and Congress leader Mohamed Azharuddin along with retired professor M Kodandaram to the legislative council under the Governor's quota.

Information and Public Relations Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy announced the government's decision after a meeting of the state cabinet.

The former cricketer is a Padma Shri and Arjuna Award recipient. He began his political innings by winning the Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad Lok Sabha seat in 2009.

He is also a working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC).

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court annulled the nominations of Kodandaram and journalist Amer Ali Khan as MLCs under the Governor’s quota.

Azharuddin, who had contested the 2023 Telangana assembly polls from Jubilee Hills constituency here, lost to Maganti Gopinath of BRS.

Gopinath had died in June this year following a heart attack and Azharuddin is seen as a contender for the ticket to contest the bypoll.

However, the Congress sprang a surprise by nominating him to the legislative council, replacing Amer Ali Khan. PTI SJR SJR ROH