Former Indian cricket captain and former MP Mohhamad Azharuddin, who had been sulking for quite some time for being ignored in the Congress party and almost joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, was on Friday appointed as the working president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi had approved the appointment of Azhar as the PCC working president.
The TPCC already has three working presidents: former MP Ponnam Prabhakar, former MLA A Revanth Reddy and senior leader Jetti Kusuma Kumar.
Along with Azhar, Rahul also appointed two vice-presidents, eight general secretaries and four secretaries.
Last week, Azhar created a speculation in the media that he was quitting the Congress party. He was conspicuous by his absence at the public meeting of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi held at Medchal on the outskirts of Hyderabad on November 23.
There were reports that he had met TRS MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha, daughter TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao. His close friend Abid Rasool Khan also quit the Congress and joined the TRS and Azhar was to follow suit.
Following reports that Azhar was contemplating joining the TRS, senior Congress MP Ahmed Patel, along with former minister Mohammad Shabbir Ali, rushed to Azhar’s residence and pacified him.
They assured that Azhar would be given all prominence in the party and his interests would be taken care of.
Azhar expressed his desire in contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Secunderabad. He had earlier represented Moradabad Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh in 2009, but lost from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur constituency in Rajasthan in 2014.
But former MP P Anjan Kumar Yadav, who had represented this constituency twice in the past, resisted his plan and threatened to walk out of the Congress, if Azhar was preferred to him for Secunderabad seat.
The high command placated Yadav by appointing him as the president of Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee and giving the MLA ticket to his son Anil Kumar Yadav from Musheerabad in the present assembly elections. This angered Azhar, who decided to quit the Congress.
Finally, he stayed back with the assurance given by the high command.