Former Indian cricket captain and Telangana minorities welfare minister Mohd Azharuddin was on Monday sworn in as a member of the legislative council (MLC), a day after Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla approved his nomination.
Along with Azharuddin, Telangana Jana Samithi president M Kodandaram was also sworn in as an MLC under the governor’s quota, at a ceremony held at the chambers of council chairman Gutha Sukhender Reddy.
Both the MLCs were administered oath of office and secrecy by the council chairman. The ceremony was attended by council deputy chairman Banda Prakash, chief minister A Revanth Reddy, legislative affairs minister D Sridhar Babu and other senior Congress leaders.
Azharuddin, who was sworn in as a minister in the Revanth Reddy cabinet on October 31, 2025, was constitutionally required to become either an MLA or an MLC before April 30.
The state cabinet in August last year recommended the names of Azharuddin and Kodandaram to the Governor for the nomination of MLCs. However, the approval had been pending since then due to a court litigation from the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Following clearance from the Supreme Court recently, the chief minister met the governor on April 19 and requested him to clear the pending nominations of Azharuddin and Kodandaram.
Speaking to reporters after taking oath, Azharuddin said he had confidence in the leadership of Revanth Reddy. He thanked AICC leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the Governor for the opportunity.
Observing that the chief minister has been taking a slew of measures for the welfare of minorities, he said he would like to work for them and other sections of society as a minister.
