Hyderabad: Former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin, who is contesting on a Congress ticket from the Jubilee Hills constituency for the upcoming Telangana polls, is confident of a victory in his hometown as he believes the ruling BRS has managed "zero development" in the area known for its posh neighbourhood and sewage problems.
In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, Azharuddin said he was distraught seeing the state of the constituency. "This is a Jubilee Hills constituency, the name is very big. When you say Jubilee Hills, everyone thinks that billionaires live here, but look at the state in which the constituency is. I was very distraught to see when I came here in the beginning, but I think with time we will develop it...will become the MLA and develop the constituency," Azharuddin said.
While the 60-year-old former MP reverberates confidence and alacrity similar to his days on the field, he may find himself on a sticky wicket in a multi-cornered contest in the constituency when Telangana goes to polls on November 30. The ruling BRS has again fielded Maganti Gopinath, who is looking for a third consecutive win. BJP has named L. Deepak Reddy as its candidate. AIMIM has fielded Mohammed Rashed Farazuddin, whose candidature is seen as an attempt by the AIMIM to split the Muslim votes to benefit BRS.
Unstirred Azharuddin promises development for the common man, confident that he will make the cut and emerge as the winner. "I am very confident (of a win). Actually, it is not a new match for me...I have fought elections before a couple of times. But I think this (election) is different because it is my hometown, people love me here. The response I am getting from the public of Jubilee Hills is outstanding. My constituency is outstanding, people are very nice...They want the work to be done," said Azharuddin, who led India in the 1992, 1996 and 1999 ODI World Cups.
The former India captain, who was a Member of Parliament from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh after his win in 2009, was on a campaign trail in Yousufguda in central Hyderabad on Monday seeking votes from the citizens. Asked whether Congress would come to power in Telangana, he said "Yes definitely!" and took a swipe at Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the BRS for 'not carrying out' any development work in the last nine years. "No development work has happened for the last nine years. You say 'Bangaru' Telangana (Golden Telangana), but actually, if you look at it, there is no Bangaru Telangana," Azharuddin said.
For Azharuddin, who has 15,855 first-class runs, there has been zero development in Jubilee Hills. "For me, development is uplifting the poor people. Development is not constructing big buildings and bringing big people. No jobs are there. If you don't develop (uplift) the people who live here, there is no development," said Azharuddin.
"Political victories are always sweet...when playing (to) get into the Indian team it took me almost 12 years. But to become an MP, it only took me one month. And now here also, to become an MLA hopefully, it will take only one month. The results in politics we get are very quick," he said.
Asked about team India's outstanding Cricket World Cup campaign, the cricketer-politician said the Men in Blue have a great chance to win the coveted trophy as they are playing with good combinations. "Their batting is good, fielding is good, and bowling is good. All the departments are in sync," he said. Polling will be held in Telangana for the 119 seats on November 30. Congress is contesting 117 seats while its ally CPI will have fielded candidates in two seats.
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