Azharuddin pads up for seat Congress lost last two times: ‘Only pitch bigger, not just 22 yards’

That was the last big performance by the party in the state, when it won a total of 21 seats, in an election that returned the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government back to power. Its nadir was the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when the Congress lost even its stronghold Amethi, with Rahul Gandhi as candidate.

As an MP though, Azharuddin’s performance was abysmal. In five years, he took part in only two debates, in comparison to the national participation average of 37.9% for MPs, and the average of 43.9% for Uttar Pradesh MPs.

Azharuddin asked five questions in the whole five years of his term – regarding loans to minority communities, funds to the Indian Olympic Association, trade in brass items which Morabadad is known for, the status of development works for the Commonwealth Games, and the last one on the revised national TB control programme.

In 2014, the Congress reposed faith in him again, this time fielding him from the Tonk-Sawai Madhopur constituency in Rajasthan. However, Azharuddin could not withstand the Narendra Modi wave. In fact, all the 25 seats in Rajasthan were won by the BJP in both 2014 and (with its ally) in 2019.

Despite retreating from politics after the 2014 loss, Azharuddin was keen on a ticket in 2019 too. However, he could not get the ticket from Secunderabad in Telangana, as he wanted.

It was said at the time that former MP Anjan Kumar Yadav, who was then the president of the Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee, was opposed to his nomination.

Azharuddin, though, retained his place with the central Congress leadership, and in 2021, was appointed as one of the five working presidents of the Telangana party unit.

Now, for the first time, the former cricketer will be taking the field from his home ground, Telangana. Party sources said that Azharuddin has been taking interest in Hyderabad politics since last year; and has got at least partly what he wanted, as Jubilee Hills falls in the Secunderabad Lok Sabha segment.

The Telangana Congress believes Azharuddin has a good chance from Jubilee Hills, which is currently represented by Maganti Gopinath of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). The Congress last won the seat in 2009.

The ticket to Azharuddin, however, has resulted in the defection of P Vishnuvardhan Reddy, the Congress winner from the seat in 2004 and 2009, to the BRS. Reddy lost the last two times from the seat to Gopinath.

On Thursday, the BJP announced Lankala Deepak Reddy, a member of its state executive committee, as its candidate from Jubilee Hills. This was one of the seats which its potential ally Jana Sena Party was said to have been eyeing.

In 2014, Gopinath, then a candidate of the TDP in united Andhra Pradesh, had won Jubilee Hills by 30.78% vote share. The Congress got 20.34% votes and the AIMIM 25.19%. In 2018, Gopinath, now the candidate of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (the precursor to the BRS), increased his vote share to 33.30%.

The Congress votes rose too, to 34.02%, while the AIMIM’s 2014 candidate contested as an Independent and got 12.04% votes.

The AIMIM is an ally of the BRS now, and had an arrangement with the party in 2018.

The veteran of 99 Tests and 334 One-Day Internationals, Azharuddin was known best for his stylish flicks against bowlers, his fielding and for his debut with three back-to-back centuries. Twelve years after match-fixing allegations ended his career, he had been cleared of all accusations and the cricket life ban against him lifted by the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Could 2023 mark a star return to the political field by him?

In an interview to PTI, the former India captain, who has started his campaign for the polls, said he had been yearning to contest from his home state and do something for the people of Telangana. Thanking “my high command, Mallikarjun Kharge ji, Sonia Gandhiji. Rahulji, Priyankaji and most importantly our
PCC chief A Revanth Reddy”, Azharuddin said he had been getting “overwhelming response” from the ground.

“We will do the fielding properly and win on this pitch, which is very big, not just 22 yards,” he said.