Cong wants Azhar to fight polls from Telangana

New Delhi/Hyderabad: The Congress is scouting for a minority face from Telangana to be accommodated at the national level as a functionary, sources in the party disclosed.

The Congress leadership which is all set to crown Rahul Gandhi as its president is seeking to tweak the DCC, PCC and AICC bodies to acquire a more robust image and is now in the process of scanning its leaders’ profiles at all levels, it is said.

As part of the exercise, it is said that Rahul Gandhi has directed the senior leaders to focus on Telangana too as "there is every chance of the party coming to power" having conceded the demand for separate statehood in 2014 while the UPA-II was in power at the express instructions of the party president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

It is said that Ghulam Nabi Azad, former in-charge of the united AP, suggested the name of former cricketer Mohd Azharuddin to be made Telangana's minority face in the AICC. At present Mohd Shabbir Ali is leading the party in the Legislative Council.

The Congress leadership plans to utilize Azharuddin's services in other states too by making him an office-bearer of the AICC. Telangana politics are in a swirl already with the talk of early general elections - generated by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's speculation some time back.

Revanth Reddy episode added to the chaos and has increased the political heat both in the Congress and the TDP with the speculation that Revanth had met Rahul Gandhi recently with his wish list. The rumours spun further to add that he had assured the migration of the wards of several TDP leaders into Congress too.

The Congress leaders had been initially skeptical of the news but later became cautious to demand, of their leadership, to not elevate Revanth to any bigger positions in the TPCC and upset the power balance.

As for Azharuddin, he will be asked to contest to the next elections from Hyderabad/Secunderabad and also be asked to campaign in Telangana.

Azharuddin has already, in the past elections, campaigned for the Congress in several States like UP, Meghalaya and J & K. He also campaigned in the company of film actress Nagma, again a Hyderabadi, who also has joined the party a few years ago.

Uttam invites Azhar to contest from TS
The Congress has invited former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin to contest the next Assembly elections due in 2019 from Telangana.

"We are inviting him (Azharuddin)," state Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy said. He said he had invited Azharuddin after the former cricketer expressed his readiness to play an active role in Telangana. "If we work together, the Congress will come into power in Telangana," Azharuddin said at a public event here earlier.

To this, Reddy then said, "I am inviting you, in Telangana, whichever MP or MLA...you want to contest. We will call you to contest."

The state Congress also wants Azharuddin to campaign for the party in Telangana, Reddy said. Azharuddin, who hails from Hyderabad, had earlier served as Congress MP from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. He unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Rajasthan.