HYDERABAD: The unseemly controversy over tennis player Sania Mirza ’s anointment as brand ambassador of Telangana by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has not only exposed the dark underbelly of Indian nationalism but also revealed the limitations of the leadership in the country’s newest state.

Faced with opposition BJP’s barbs over her nationality owing to her marriage to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik , the 27-year-old tennis player broke down in an interview with a TV channel, saying it was unfair that she had to keep asserting her Indianness.But why did Telangana need a brand ambassador in the first place ? The idea, people familiar with the matter told ET, sprang from the realisation that the nascent state would have to walk the extra mile to promote itself because most of its legislators were from a rustic background and were thrown into limelight due to the agitation for the state.The government has utilised the services of chief minister’s son and IT minister K Taraka Rama Rao – a New York University management graduate in marketing and e-commerce – in more than a hundred meetings involving ministers and industrialists over the past few weeks. But the chief minister has few other such people to turn to.“KCR wanted some well-known film, literary or sports personality as brand ambassador of the new state. While there is no popular film or literary personality hailing from Telangana with recall value globally, Sania Mirza was found suitable in all respects – she is popular and has roots in Telangana,” a senior bureaucrat associated with the exercise said.However, opposition BJP’s floor leader in the assembly K Laxman questioned Mirza’s credentials for the honour and flayed the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government’s decision to appoint her as the brand ambassador.Pointing out that she was born in Maharashtra and settled in Hyderabad, the state BJP leader termed her a ‘non-local” and dubbed her “daughter-in-law” of Pakistan.Laxman also accused the TRS government of aiming to consolidate its hold among the minority community and eyeing Muslim votes in the ensuing elections to civic bodies in Hyderabad.However, the BJP’s national leadership not only distanced itself from Laxman’s remarks but also termed the tennis player a pride and brand ambassador of India. Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday said, “Sania Mirza is a pride of India.She has an international standing on her own... So, we have no objection. I am sure she is pride of India. She is brand ambassador of India.”The tennis player was selected as the face of the state after the government considered badminton star Saina Nehwal, shooter Gagan Narang and badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, but had to reject all three because they were considered settlers in Hyderabad.