Azhar faces resistance in batting from Secunderabad

Slated to contest against All India Majlis E Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, cricketer-turned-politician Mohammed Azharuddin, however, wants to test his political prospects in Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency instead, where he began his cricket career.

His proposal faced stiff resistance from fellow Congress leader Anjan Kumar Yadav, who is the Greater Hyderabad City Congress president now. Anjan had represented Secunderabad twice and lost to BJP’s Bandaru Dattatreya in 2014 LS elections. Anjan has been hoping that he will be given the ticket this time too.

The issue of Azhar came up at the City Congress meeting on Monday, where an angry Anjan openly declared that he will be contesting from “Lashkar”, as Secunderabad is known, and not the cricketer. “If Azhar has got any guts let him face Asaduddin in Hyderabad. I have fought elections from Secunderabad when no one was ready to even file papers,” said Anjan Kumar.

While Anjan found support from another former Congress MP Sarve Satyanarayana, Azharuddin’s supporter, former Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha Rao, silently walked out of the meeting. Anjan’s supporters raised slogans against Azhar and demanded that the high command should give Secunderabad ticket only to Anjan.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy who has been trying to unify the warring Congress factions, tried to pacify the party workers. Azhar reportedly evinced keen interest in contesting from Lashkar rather than fighting with the MIM chief, in an interview on Sunday. Azhar successfully contested from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh in 2009 and lost in Tonk-Sawai in Rajasthan in 2014.

Local boy

Azhar is a local boy and had first practised in Gymkhana Grounds in Secunderabad. He has his house in Banjara Hills and his eldest son is studying here. His second son, Azharuddin, died as a 19-year-old boy in a bike accident in 2011. He has relatives and childhood friends here. Azhar’s return to his roots was anticipated during 2014 elections to benefit from vote bank issues, but it did not materialise.

As a prelude, he tried contesting for the Hyderabad Cricket Association but his nomination was rejected. He was not even allowed to attend the HCA governing body meeting intended to adopt the Justice Lodha Committee recommendations.