Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], October 30 : The Telangana BJP has lodged a complaint with the State Chief Electoral Officer, alleging that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's reported proposal to induct former Indian cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin into the cabinet amounts to a gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct and is aimed at influencing voters in the Jubilee Hills bye-election.
In a letter, BJP MLA Payal Shanker stated that the proposal is intended to woo voters and urged the CEO to take immediate action to withdraw the announcement. Azharuddin had contested from Jubilee Hills constituency in the 2023 Assembly elections.
The BJP said that the move, if confirmed, would adversely affect the bye-election and requested the CEO to take cognisance of the alleged violation.
On Thursday, Telangana BJP President Ramchander Rao called the decision an act of "appeasement".
"While the Jubilee Hills by-election campaigns are going on, the Congress government in Telangana wants to make Mohammad Azharuddin a Minister in the state Cabinet. This is nothing but an act of appeasement and also a violation of the model code of conduct... BJP opposes this move," Rao told ANI.
Voting for the Jubilee Hills by-election is scheduled to take place on November 14, with counting of votes on November 14. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of the sitting MLA and BRS leader Maganti Gopinath.
Backward Class leader V Naveen Yadav is contesting on behalf of the Congress, while BRS has fielded Gopinath's widow, Sunitha. BJP has nominated Lankala Deepak Reddy as its candidate.
The Assembly constituency has a high concentration of Muslim voters, and the decision of the Congress government has been seen as a move to increase the prospects of the party among the Muslim voters. The Congress has no Muslim MLA in the current State Assembly, and there is no Muslim Cabinet Minister in the Cabinet.
With Azharuddin's induction, the number of Ministers in the Revanth Reddy cabinet will go up to 16. The total strength of the Council of Ministers in Telangana is 18, including the Chief Minister.