Former Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique, associated with Ajit Pawar, was shot dead in Mumbai on Saturday evening.
According to preliminary reports, three to four assailants fired two to three rounds at the NCP leader outside the office of his MLA son, Zeeshan Siddiqui, near Colgate ground in Nirmal Nagar, Bandra (East). He was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries shortly after arriving.
“Two to three rounds were fired, and further investigation is underway as teams have been dispatched to the area,” reported the news agency PTI, citing an official.
Siddique had received a death threat just 15 days prior to the incident and was under ‘Y’ category security.
Who Was Baba Siddique?
Baba Siddique, originally from Bihar, entered politics as a teenager when he joined the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Indian National Congress.
Shortly after, he was elected as a Municipal Corporator in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation. He served as an MLA for the Vandre West Vidhan Sabha Constituency for three consecutive terms in 1999, 2004, and 2009, and held the position of Minister of State for Food & Civil Supplies, Labour, and the FDA.
n February this year, he made a significant move by resigning from the primary membership of the Congress and joining the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar.
Reflecting on his departure, Siddique stated, “My experience in the Congress was akin to how curry leaves are used to enhance the flavor of food. I felt like that in the Congress Party.”
Siddique’s son, Zeeshan, served as a Congress MLA for Mumbai’s Bandra (East) assembly constituency, but he was expelled from the party in August due to alleged anti-party activities.
Known as the “Bandra Boy,” Siddique was famous for hosting lavish Iftar parties attended by prominent Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan.
Siddique was credited with mending the high-profile rift between Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. Reports indicate that the two superstars were embroiled in a heated argument in 2008, which led them to avoid each other at major events. However, in 2013, their feud was resolved at Siddique’s Iftar party, attended by several prominent figures from the industry. For the first time in years, both Khans were under the same roof, embraced each other, and put an end to their five-year-long feud.
Despite his limited ties to the film industry, Siddique’s ability to reunite these two major stars after such a bitter rivalry solidified his standing in the entertainment world.
Source: News18
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