Congress demanded inclusion of minorities in the new cabinet.

Hyderabad: Since no candidate from the Muslim minority has been elected in the Congress party, there is a demand within the party to include some of them in the new state cabinet to be formed in a few days. Although several candidates from the Muslim minority presented themselves in the election to represent the Congress, they all lost. Former minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir, who contested from Nizamabad Urban electoral district, lost to Democrat Suryanarayan of BJP by a margin of 15,587 votes. Similarly, Firoz Khan, who contested the Nampally electoral district strongly representing the Congress, lost to AIMIM’s Majid Hussain by only 2,175 votes. Jubilee Hills Congress candidate and former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin also lost to BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath by a margin of 16,337. Even as the Congress got a clear majority of 64 seats and is set to form the government, many party leaders want Muslim minority candidates to be included in the new cabinet. TPCC senior vice-president G Niranjan said that since no minority candidate won in these Congress elections, Nampally candidate Firoz Khan, who fought a hard fight, should be included in the state cabinet. He said the party needs to consider inducting him or any other minority leader to build the party’s base in the minority community and gain its confidence. Admitting the absence of victorious candidates from Ciudad Vieja in the assembly elections, Hyderabad District Congress Committee President Sameer Waliullah said that Ciudad Vieja should get representation in the Legislative Council through nomination. Expressing confidence in the positive impact of the new government on the community, he said in a statement, “In line with the spirit of a welfare government, I am hopeful that the Congress Party will fulfill the aspirations of the common people”.