HYDERABAD: Former Indian cricket captain and the Congress government’s MLC nominee, Md Azharuddin, is likely to be inducted into the state Cabinet led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, in a move seen as politically significant ahead of the Jubilee Hills byelection.

Party insiders believe that bringing the former cricketer into the Cabinet would not only strengthen the Congress’s appeal among minorities in Jubilee Hills, where Muslims constitute around 33% of the electorate, but also project a positive image at the national level, especially in the context of elections in Bihar and other states.

On August 30, the state Cabinet had recommended the nomination of Azharuddin and Prof M Kodandaram to the Legislative Council under the Governor’s quota. However, approval from Governor Jishnu De

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