Baba Siddiqui’s long arc, from lowest Congress rung to the cream of Bollywood

By 1988, helium had risen to the presumption of president of the Mumbai Youth Congress and was elected arsenic a councillor successful the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) successful 1992.

NCP person Baba Siddique was changeable dormant successful Mumbai connected Saturday. (Express record photograph by Sankhadeep Banerjee)

During his ascent, Siddiqui developed a adjacent narration with Sunil Dutt, a salient Congress MP who represented Mumbai North West for 5 consecutive terms. This transportation proved instrumental successful securing Siddiqui an MLA summons successful 1999 from Bandra West, which helium successfully won, retaining the spot for 3 consecutive terms.

From 2004 to 2008, Baba Siddiqui served arsenic the Maharashtra Minister of State for Food & Civil Supplies, Labour, FDA, and Consumer Protection successful the Congress-NCP government.

Known arsenic the Congress party’s Muslim face, Siddiqui faced a important governmental setback erstwhile helium mislaid the 2014 elections to the BJP’s Ashish Shelar. Since then, helium had been striving to revive his governmental career. Although helium did not contention elections himself, helium managed to unafraid a spot for his lad Zeeshan Siddiqui from Bandra East successful the 2019 Assembly elections, and helium won what was considered a Shiv Sena bastion by a constrictive borderline of 5,000 votes.

However, Siddiqui had a fallout with the Congress owed to its determination to state with the Shiv Sena and signifier the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Actively seeking a governmental pathway for himself and to unafraid his son’s governmental future, Siddiqui is believed to person earnestly considered shifting his governmental basal to Bihar, wherever his household had roots, astatine 1 point.

Congress sources accidental helium adjacent sought a Rajya Sabha spot from RJD person Tejashwi Yadav, but was unsuccessful.

Siddiqui yet saw an accidental to revive his governmental vocation pursuing the splits successful the Shiv Sena and NCP, and the emergence of a caller governmental scenery successful the state.

In February this year, ending his 48-year relation with the Congress, Siddiqui near the enactment to articulation the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

While governmental expediency played a relation successful his decision, fixed that this NCP besides had ties with some the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and BJP, his ongoing troubles with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were besides a important factor. In 2017, the ED had raided properties linked to him successful Bandra arsenic portion of a wealth laundering probe related to a slum rehabilitation project.

Away from politics, Siddiqui’s assertion to fame were his extravagant iftar parties. These gatherings attracted galore celebrities, including 1 famously attended successful 2013 by superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, which is believed to person marked the opening of the extremity of a long-lasting feud betwixt them.

As food, laughter and camaraderie flowed, the 2 actors were spotted having a lukewarm speech and hugging. Spotted successful the middle, basking successful the glory of a Bollywood infinitesimal that would spell down successful history, was Baba Siddiqui.