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
Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan conveying his wishes to Kidari Sravan Kumar after swearing in as Minister, at Praja Vedika near Vijayawada on Sunday. (Right) N. Md. Farooq swearing in as Minister. | Photo Credit: CH_VIJAYA BHASKAR
Chief Minister promises to strive for the welfare of the minorities and tribals
N. Md. Farooq and Kidari Sravan Kumar were sworn in as Ministers by Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan at Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s residence in Amaravati on Sunday.
This takes the strength of the Cabinet to 26.
The decision to give representation to the minorities and tribals in the Cabinet seems to have been taken with an eye on the 2019 elections. Mr. Sravan is the son of Araku MLA, Sarveswara Rao, who had been killed by the Maoists recently.
Portfolios
Sources in the CMO said that Mr. Farooq was allocated the subjects of Minority Welfare, Health, APMSIDC, Food Safety and NTR Health University and Mr. Sravan Kumar given the responsibility of Tribal Welfare, Primary Health, Family Welfare, Vaidya Vidhana Parishad, Drug Control and Ayush ministries. Sources also said that Minister for Social Welfare Nakka Ananda Babu was given then additional responsibility of Cinematography.
However, an official announcement is yet to come on the allocation of the portfolios. Addressing the media after the swearing-in ceremony, Mr. Naidu said all the Ministers should cooperate with the new members of the Cabinet. “Mr. Sravan is an IIT graduate. He is preparing for the civil services. Instead of becoming a civil servant, he has become a Minister. We will groom him into a good leader. We will also offer Group-I post to Mr. Sravan’s brother and help his sister become a doctor,” Mr. Naidu said. Abraham, son of former MLA Siveri Soma who was also killed along with Sarveswara Rao, was appointed member of the SC, ST Commission.
Mr. Naidu said he would strive for the welfare of the minorities and tribals.
He said Mr. Farooq had vast political experience and was an efficient leader. Mr. Farooq had earlier served as a Minister and Chairman of the Legislative
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Appaji Reddem / Vijayawada – November 12th, 2018
N.Md. Farooq being greeted after taking over as Chairman of the A.P. Legislative Council on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: HAND_OUT
Payyavula Keshav appointed chief whip; Dokka, three others made whips
Former Minister and Deputy Speaker in undivided Andhra Pradesh N.Md. Farooq was unanimously elected Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council here on Wednesday.
He succeeded A. Chakrapani, whose term ended after the monsoon session.
Mr. Farooq was escorted to the podium by the Leader of the House and Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu.
The Finance Minister and other Ministers such as Kimidi Kala Venkata Rao and Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu recalled how Mr. Farooq played an active role in public life.
Mr. Patrudu recalled how he and Mr. Farooq worked in the NTR Cabinet and lived in the same street.
Ministers N. Chinarajappa, Kamineni Srinivas, Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, K.S. Jawahar, and K. Atchannaidu, and former Minister Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu said the election of Mr. Farooq ensured proper representation to the Muslim community.
The Chairman’s post was a highly respected one and the Muslims in the State were happy that it had been given to a leader from their community.
The Ministers said that Mr. Farooq had worked as a Minister for 11 years and as Deputy Speaker in the undivided A.P., and had the experience needed for holding the high post.
TDP MLC Payyavula Keshav was appointed chief whip. The government also appointed Dokka Manikya Varaprasad, Buddha Venkanna, P. Ramasubba Reddy, and Sharif Mohammad Ahmed as whips.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Amaravati – November 16th, 2017
