Hyderabad, Feb. 29: A Muslim IAS officer in Andhra Pradesh took voluntary retirement and joined the ruling party YSR Congress.
Senior officer A. Md. Imtiaz today joined YSRCP in the presence of party president and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) is likely to field Imtiaz as its candidate from Kurnool Assembly constituency in the forthcoming elections.
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.
Imtiaz has been serving as additional chief commissioner of land administration for the last one year.
He earlier served as the district collector of Krishna, CEO of SERP (Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty) and Secretary of Minority Welfare Department.
Known in bureaucratic circles for his humble nature and honesty, Imtiaz had been active in public service through their family-managed trust.
His father-in-law Dr KM Ismail Hussain was known as a ‘2 rupee’ doctor in Kurnool. The doctor who charged patients only Rs.2 succumbed to Covid-19 in 2020.
YSRCP’s sitting MLA from Kurnool is Hafeez Khan. However, Jagan Mohan Reddy has reportedly decided to field Imtiaz this time.
Earlier, Jagan Mohan Reddy picked Mohammad Khaleel Ahmed as the YSRCP candidate from Nellore city constituency. He is the first Muslim candidate from the constituency since its formation in 1952.
Muslims constitute about 20-25 percent of the population in Nellore constituency but they never got a chance to contest.
Elections to the 175-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly are likely to be held along with Lok Sabha polls in April-May.
