Former Indian cricket captain and politician Mohammad Azharuddin’s scheduled induction into Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s Cabinet has drawn sharp objections from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, who see it as an attempt to influence the high-profile Jubilee Hills bypoll.

Azharuddin is set to be sworn in on Friday. The Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency has over one lakh Muslim voters, making his elevation a case of “wooing the electorate” ahead of a triangular contest between the Congress, BJP , and BRS.

On Thursday, the BJP lodged a complaint with the State Election Commission, calling the move a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

“It is an attempt to court the voters of a certain community and it is evident,” a BJP leader told The Indian Express

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