Indian media has reported that Indian National Congress party is thinking about pitting famous tennis player Sania Mirza against All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi from Hyderabad in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The proposal came from former Indian cricket captain and Congress leader Mohammed Azharuddin.
During a meeting held on Wednesday, the Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) discussed candidates for various states including Goa, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Daman and Diu. It is believed that Sania Mirza’s name was also discussed in this meeting.
Experts suggest that Congress wants to use Sania Mirza’s popularity and fame to regain support in Hyderabad’s elections.
The last time Congress won in Hyderabad was in 1980 with K S Narayan as the MP.
Mohammed Azharuddin proposed Sania Mirza’s name for candidature, as there’s a close family connection between the two. Mohammed Asaddudin, the cricketer’s son, married Sania Mirza’s sister, Anam Mirza, in 2019.
Azharuddin competed in the recent Telangana legislative assembly elections but lost to Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s (BRS) Maganti Gopinath from the Jubilee Hills constituency by more than 16,000 votes.
For this Lok Sabha election, BJP has chosen Madhavi Latha as its candidate, and BRS has put forward Gaddam Srinivas Yadav.
The elections for the 543 parliamentary constituencies will happen in seven phases, starting on April 19 and ending on June 1.
