Jubilee Hills bye-election: BJP urges EC not allow Azharuddin's swearing-in as Telangana minister

Hyderabad, Oct 30 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday urged the Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana not to permit the Congress government to expand the State Cabinet in view of the Jubilee Hills bye-election.

A delegation of the BJP's Telangana unit leaders met Chief Electoral Officer Sudharshan Reddy and submitted a memorandum.

They drew his attention to media reports that Congress leader and former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin will be inducted into the Telangana Cabinet.

BJP's deputy floor leader in the Telangana Assembly, Payal Shanker, said that this would be a gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. He alleged that the Chief Minister wants to appease a section of voters in the Jubilee Hills bye-election.

The BJP leader said that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy offered a ministerial position to Azharuddin to attract a section of voters.

Stating that such announcements are against the election conduct rules and an attempt to "influence" voters, the BJP submitted a complaint to the Election Commission.

The BJP demanded that the Congress government immediately stop these unethical actions being carried out during the election period.

"This proposal is nothing but to woo and garner the voters of a section of the voters in the upcoming Jubilee Hills bye-election. This proposal at this stage is an utter violation of the Model of Conduct, even though MCC is not applicable to the entire city of Hyderabad, the alleged announcement, if any, made by the Hon’ble Chief Minister would adversely affect the bye-election in the Jubilee Hills constituency," reads the complaint.

The BJP also pointed out that Azharuddin had contested as a candidate from the Jubilee Hills constituency in the 2023 Assembly elections.

The AICC has reportedly given clearance for Azharuddin’s induction in the Cabinet. The former cricketer is likely to be sworn in as the minister on October 31.

The Jubilee Hills bye-election is scheduled to be held on November 11. The vacancy arose following the death of sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath of BRS in June.

Meanwhile, state BJP chief N. Ramchander Rao has said that the decision to make Azharuddin a minister amid the Jubilee Hills bye-election code is a clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct. He termed this as appeasement politics.

--IANS

ms/svn