Overview
- Party sources and multiple outlets report a swearing-in on October 31, with some accounts pointing to a Raj Bhavan ceremony.
- If inducted, he would be the first Muslim minister in Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s cabinet and take the council to 16 members, below the 18-member cap.
- The timing is widely viewed as an appeal to Muslim voters before the November 11 Jubilee Hills bypoll, where the electorate includes over one lakh Muslim voters.
- Azharuddin was nominated in August for an MLC seat under the Governor’s quota after the Supreme Court struck down earlier nominations, and he must enter the Assembly or Council within six months of taking office to remain a minister.
- AICC approval is reported, with senior Congress figures pushing his inclusion as he seeks a return to frontline politics after losing the Jubilee Hills seat in 2023.