Senior leader of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and former chairman of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council Mohammed Shariff Ahmed has been appointed as the Advisor to Andhra Pradesh government on minority affairs.
Shariff, who is TDP general secretary, will enjoy the rank of a Cabinet Minister. He is the first Muslim leader to be appointed as Advisor by the TDP-led NDA government.
Shariff’s name figures in the list of 59 leaders appointed on nominated posts by the Chandrababu Naidu government.
This is the second important post given to Muslim leader by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Nasyam Mohammed Farooq is the lone Muslim in Naidu’s Cabinet. The 74-year-old is the minister for law and minority affairs.
Shariff hails from Narsapuram in West Godavari district. The 70-year-old has been associated with the TDP since the party’s inception in 1982. He holds Bachelor of Commerce degree from a college in Narsapuram and Master of Commerce and LLB degrees from Bhopal University.
Shariff became chairperson of Legislative Council in February 2019 and held the position till May 2021.
TDP State Minority Cell president Moulana Mushtaq Ahmed has been appointed chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Minorities Finance Corporation. Hailing from Nandyal, he studied from Darul Uloom Sabeelur Rashad, Bangalore.
Shariff and Mushtaq are only two Muslim leaders in the second list of nominated posts.
In the first list released last month, the government had appointed TDP leader Shaik Abdul Aziz as chairman of state Waqf Board. Abdul Aziz, a former mayor of Nellore, is currently the TDP president for the Nellore parliamentary constituency. The 64-year-old industrialist-cum-politician was expecting nomination to the Legislative Council but was appointed chairman of the Waqf Board.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Latest News> Report / by Radiance News Bureau / November 09th, 2024
Muslim representation has come down in Andhra Pradesh Assembly. Only three Muslims have been elected in the just concluded elections while four Muslims were elected in 2019.
All the three were elected on the tickets of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which, along with its allies Jana Sena and BJP, has scored a landslide victory.
The TDP had fielded three Muslims and all of them have emerged winners.
YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) had fielded seven Muslim candidates, the highest ever in the state’s history and all of them were defeated.
TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance has won a whopping 164 seats in the 175-member Assembly. It also won 21 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats.
Senior TDP leader and former minister Nasyam Mohammed Farook was elected from Nandyal constituency. He defeated Silpa Ravi Chandra Kishore Reddy of YSRCP by a margin of 12,333.
This is the fourth time Farook has been elected as MLA. He was earlier elected in 1985, 1994 and 1999. The senior leader had served as deputy speaker of the Assembly and a minister in united Andhra Pradesh.
Mohammed Naseer Ahmed of TDP has been elected from Guntur East. He defeated Noori Fatima Shaik of YSRCP by a margin of 31,962 votes. The YSRCP had denied a ticket to sitting MLA Mohammad Mustafa and fielded Noori Fathima.
The Congress party had also fielded a Muslim candidate Shaik Mastan Vali, who was elected on Congress ticket in 2009. He, however, finished a distant third.
This constituency had been electing Muslim MLA candidates since the 1980s.
The third Muslim to be elected to the Assembly is M. Shahjahan Basha. He defeated S. Nisar Ahamad of YSRCP by 5,509 votes in Madanapalle constituency. He was earlier elected from here as Congress candidate in 2009.
The YSRCP had not fielded Mohammed Nawaz Basha, who was elected from here in 2019.
In Kadiri constituency, YSRCP’s B.S. Maqbool lost to K. Venkata Prasad of TDP by a margin of 6,265 votes.
This was the second time that YSRCP has given Kadiri ticket to a Muslim. In 2014, Attar Chand Basha was elected from here.
Deputy Chief Minister and YSRCP leader Amzath Basha Shaik Bepari suffered defeat in Kadapa. She lost to Madhavi Reddappa of TDP by 18,860 votes. The fielding of a Muslim candidate by Congress party led to Basha’s defeat. T.K. Afzal Ali Khan of Congress secured 24,500 votes, spoiling the chances of the YSRCP candidate, who was seeking re-election for a third consecutive term.
Kadapa constituency in Jagan Mohan Reddy’s home district of YSR Kadapa has been electing Muslim candidates since 1994. TDP’s S.A. Khaleel Basha was elected in 1994 and 1999 while Congress party’s Ahmadullah Mohammad was elected in 2004 and 2009.
In Kurnool, retired IAS officer MD. Imtiaz lost to TDP’s T.G. Bharath by a margin of 18,876 votes. Congress party’s Shaik Jeelani Basha finished third and secured 9,022 votes.
The YSRCP has denied renomination to sitting MLA Hafeez Khan to field Imtiaz, who took voluntary retirement to join the ruling party in February.
A state-cadre IAS officer of 2009 batch, Imtiaz hails from Kurnool, which has a sizable Muslim population. He had topped Group-I examination and opted for the commercial taxes department.
Khaleel Ahamd of YSRCP lost to TDP candidate P. Narayana in Nellore city constituency by a margin of over 72,000 votes. Khaleel was the first Muslim candidate from the constituency since its formation in 1952.
YSRCP’s Shaik Asif also suffered defeat in Vijayawada West. He lost to former union minister and BJP candidate Sujana Chowdary by a margin of 47,032 votes.
YSRCP claimed to be the only party which gave political reservation to Muslim community. While defending four per cent reservation for Muslims in jobs and education, Jagan Mohan Reddy had said that they gave four per cent of 175 Assembly seats to Muslims.
In 2019 when YSRCP stormed to power with a landslide majority, four Muslims were elected to the state Assembly on its tickets. It had fielded five Muslim candidates.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Latest News / by Radiance News Bureau / June 08th, 2024
Powerlifting champion Sk. Sadia Almas presenting a bouquet to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy at Tadepalli on Tuesday.
Proposal for setting up a powerlifting academy at Mangalagiri approved
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced a final assistance of ₹5 lakh on behalf of the Andhra Pradesh government for international powerlifting champion Shaik Sadia Almas.
Ms. Sadia, along with her father Samdhani, met Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy at his chamber in the Assembly . She won three gold medals and a bronze medal at the Asian Powerlifting Championships held at Istanbul in Turkey in December 2021.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy appreciated Ms. Sadia and approved the proposal of establishing a powerlifting academy in her hometown of Mangalagiri. He said that the government would make all efforts to encourage athletes in the State.
Sports Minister M. Srinivasa Rao, Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, Special Chief Secretary Rajat Bhargava and others were present on the occasion.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Tharun Boda / Vijayawada – March 22nd, 2022
Shows his mettle: Rasheed was one of India’s star batters in the Under-19 World Cup with a 94 in the semifinals and a 50 in the final.
India U-19 vice-captain says ‘we were fortunate to have people like Kanitkar and Bahutule’
“Hold a cricket bat, close your eyes, keep visualising the bowlers whom you are likely to face on the cricket field and do shadow practise.”
Vice-captain of victorious Indian under-19 team in the recent World Cup in West Indies, Shaik Rasheed, said this advice from the cricketing great and now NCA Director V.V.S. Laxman made a huge difference to his batting in the semifinals and the final.
Difficult times
“After the first league match, I tested positive. There were too many negative thoughts. Was finding it difficult to handle the situation.
But, Laxman sir (who was with the Indian team during the World Cup) kept talking to all of us (whoever tested positive) during quarantine daily and kept encouraging,” Rasheed recalled in an exclusive chat with The Hindu.
“I should say we were fortunate to have such wonderful support staff which includes head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar and bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule. I remember even Kanitkar sir telling me ‘We don’t look to you to score runs. We would love to see you stay at the wicket as long as possible’,” 18-year-old Rasheed said.
“I owe everything to my father. He never ever made me feel uncomfortable. Whatever I asked, he always provided despite the financial problems,” Rasheed said.
“No. There was never ever a thought of quitting cricket because of the poor financial background of my family. Me and my father always felt cricket is the way out for us,” he said.
“I am always grateful to ACA, J. Krishna Rao sir (Mangalagiri ACA Residential Academy), MSK sir and Bharat anna (wicketkeeper-batter K. Srikar Bharat). They all ensured that I didn’t miss anything in continuing my passion in my early days,” the young cricketer said.
First priority
On his own batting, Rasheed said his first priority was to stay as long as possible and not think too much about individual goals. “For me, team’s win is always important,” he said.
What next? “Hoping to be in the Ranji Trophy squad as I have been called to join the State team’s preparations in Vizianagaram ACA Sports Complex. Looking forward to doing well and keep scoring and then, of course, play for India seniors one day,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Cricket / by V V Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – February 10th, 2022
