#Semifinals18: Mohammed Azharuddin appointed as working president of Telangana Congress

Telangana: Mohammad Azharuddin was appointed as the working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) on Friday. He had earlier expressed his unhappiness with the way the party was treating him and had desired to leave the party. The former Indian cricket captain and former MP’s appointment came in after being approved by the Congress president Rahul Gandhi. 

TPCC currently has four working presidents including Azharuddin, Revanth Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, and Jetti Kusum Kumar. Dr BM Vinod Kumar and Jaffer Javed are the party’s vice presidents.   

Azharuddin had earlier expressed his desire to compete the 2019 elections from his home ground Secunderabad, Telangana. He stated, “At the end of the day, the party is the supreme power. I want to work for the people there (Secunderabad). I have worked very hard in the constituency, but I don't believe in publicity. What I gathered from my party is that they are also keen that I go there.” He also mentioned about his positive interaction with the people including farmers from Secunderabad. This did not go well with the party MP Anjan Kumar Yadav, who is contesting from the same constituency. 

In the previous elections, Azharuddin was seen as a possible candidate from Hyderabad. He was not keen on contesting from the same as the seat is held by Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) for over three decades. The MIM is led by Asaduddin Owaisi. Azharuddin has previously contested from Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh in 2009. He had won the same while representing Congress. However, in 2014 elections, he lost the Sawai Madhopur constituency during the Rajasthan elections. 

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