Baba Siddiqui, who was shot useless in Bandra on Saturday, was identified to be a seasoned and flamboyant politician as snug crafting an increase in politics as hobnobbing with Bollywood celebrities, lots of whom might be seen rubbing shoulders at his extremely publicized iftar gatherings.
Born Ziauddin Siddiqui to businessman Abdul Rahim, who hailed from Bihar, Baba started his political journey in scholar politics. He joined the Indian Nationwide Congress as a youngster in 1977 and rapidly made a reputation for himself, changing into the overall secretary of the Bandra Taluka Youth Congress in 1980. Inside two years, he was elected its president.
By 1988, he had risen to the place of president of the Mumbai Youth Congress and was elected as a councillor within the Brihanmumbai Municipal Company (BMC) in 1992.
Throughout his ascent, Siddiqui developed a detailed relationship with Sunil Dutt, a distinguished Congress MP who represented Mumbai North West for 5 consecutive phrases. This connection proved instrumental in securing Siddiqui an MLA ticket in 1999 from Bandra West, which he efficiently received, retaining the seat for 3 consecutive phrases.
From 2004 to 2008, Baba Siddiqui served because the Maharashtra Minister of State for Meals & Civil Provides, Labour, FDA, and Shopper Safety within the Congress-NCP authorities.
Referred to as the Congress celebration’s Muslim face, Siddiqui confronted a big political setback when he misplaced the 2014 elections to the BJP’s Ashish Shelar. Since then, he had been striving to revive his political profession. Though he didn’t contest elections himself, he managed to safe a seat for his son Zeeshan Siddiqui from Bandra East within the 2019 Meeting elections, and he received what was thought-about a Shiv Sena bastion by a slender margin of 5,000 votes.
Nonetheless, Siddiqui had a fallout with the Congress on account of its determination to ally with the Shiv Sena and type the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) authorities. Actively searching for a political pathway for himself and to safe his son’s political future, Siddiqui is believed to have severely thought-about shifting his political base to Bihar, the place his household had roots, at one level.
Congress sources say he even sought a Rajya Sabha seat from RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav, however was unsuccessful.
Siddiqui lastly noticed a chance to revive his political profession following the splits within the Shiv Sena and NCP, and the emergence of a brand new political panorama within the state.
In February this yr, ending his 48-year affiliation with the Congress, Siddiqui left the celebration to affix the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
Whereas political expediency performed a job in his determination, provided that this NCP additionally had ties with each the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and BJP, his ongoing troubles with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have been additionally a big issue. In 2017, the ED had raided properties linked to him in Bandra as a part of a cash laundering investigation associated to a slum rehabilitation undertaking.
Away from politics, Siddiqui’s declare to fame have been his extravagant iftar events. These gatherings attracted quite a few celebrities, together with one famously attended in 2013 by superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, which is believed to have marked the start of the top of a long-lasting feud between them.
As meals, laughter and camaraderie flowed, the 2 actors have been noticed having a heat dialog and hugging. Noticed within the center, basking within the glory of a Bollywood second that might go down in historical past, was Baba Siddiqui.
