Congress considering Sania Mirza from Hyderabad against Asaduddin Owaisi
THE Congress party is reportedly considering naming tennis star Sania Mirza as its candidate from Hyderabad for the Lok Sabha elections, which will start next month.
The party is going to disclose the final list of candidates for the general elections after the Congress Central Election Committee meeting in Delhi.
As per party sources, Mirza's name has been coined by former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin, who is also a Congress leader. Azharuddins and Mirzas have close familial ties as the crickter's son Mohammed Asaddudin is married to Sania Mirza's sister, Anam Mirza.
In the state elections held in December 2023, Mohammed Azharuddin lost to Bharat Rashtra Samithi's Maganti Gopinath from Jubilee Hills by over 16,000 votes.
Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency's sitting MP is All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi. In 2019, 14 candidates contested against Asaduddin Owaisi for the LS polls in the Hyderabad constituency. Owaisi won the seat by securing 58.94 per cent of the total votes polled here.
For this Lok Sabha election, BJP and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have already named their candidates.
On Monday, BRS named Gaddam Srinivas Yadav as its candidate for the Hyderabad parliament constituency. BJP has fielded Madhavi Latha for the seat. The Congress is yet to name its candidate.
Congress last won in Hyderabad in 1980 with K S Narayan. Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi won as an independent in 1984, then as AIMIM from 1989 to 1999. His son, Asaddudin Owaisi, took over in 2004 and has held the seat since.
