Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Baba Siddique's son Zeeshan joins NCP; to contest from Bandra East

Mumbai: Much on expected lines, late politician-businessman Baba Siddique’s son Zeeshan Siddique joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and would seek re-election from the Bandra East seat of Mumbai ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Bandra East, which also houses Matoshree, the bungalow of the Thackeray family, is considered a Shiv Sena seat.

In 2019, Zeeshan was elected from Bandra East seat from the Congress defeating Prof Vishwanath Mahadeshwar of undivided Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.

However, then the fight was between Congress-NCP Democratic Front and the saffron alliance involving Shiv Sena and BJP.

The Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) has put up Aaditya Thackeray’s cousin and confidante Varun Sardesai from the Bandra East seat.

Baba Siddique (65) was shot dead on 12 October in the Nirmalnagar area of Mumbai.

He was a two-term Corporator, a three-time MLA from (1999 and 2004 from Bandra and 2009 from Bandra West is a former Minister of State having handled portfolios like Food & Civil Supplies, Labour and FDA and Consumer Protection in the erstwhile Congress-NCP Democratic Front government.

Before the Lok Sabha polls, Baba Siddique had left Congress, with which he was associated for 48 years, and joined the NCP.

Zeeshan was recently expelled by the Congress for alleged cross-voting during the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls.

Zeeshan was inducted into the NCP in presence of Ajit Pawar and state NCP President Sunil Tatkare. “Zeeshan would continue his father’s legacy of public service and social service,” Ajit Pawar said.

“It is an emotional day for me and my family,” Zeeshan said and thanked Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare. “The people of Bandra East have been a pillar of strength for me and the results would reflect it,” he added.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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