Will Zeeshan Siddique Retain Vandre East On Ajit Pawar's NCP Ticket?

Assassinated former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddiqui’s son Zeeshan Siddique has been given a ticket from his sitting seat by Ajit Pawar’s NCP. Zeeshan Siddique had won Vandre East on Congress ticket in 2019. His father resigned from the party in February 2024 and joined the Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar before being killed earlier this month.

Congress had expelled Zeeshan in August after the allegations of cross-voting in a legislative council election. The MLA joined Ajit Pawar’s party a day after he slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, accusing it of abandoning him after his father, who moved to the MCP earlier this year.

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The development comes after the MVA alliance decided Zeeshans’s sitting seat, Vandre (East), to be contested by Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena as part of the seat-sharing deal. After joining Ajit Pawar’s NCP, Zeeshan alleged that the MVA intended to deceive him in “this difficult time”, adding that it was an emotional day for his family and him.

A graduate in Global Management and Public Leadership at Regent’s University London, United Kingdom, the sitting MLA expressed his confidence of winning from his seat by a record margin for another term. In 2019, he defeated Shiv Sena’s Vishwanath Mahadeshwar by a majority of 19,008 votes.

Read Also: Baba Siddique’s Son Zeeshan Joins Ajit Pawar’s NCP; To Contest In Vandre East

Notably, the NCP had landed in trouble when the assailants murdered Baba Siddique in a busting city, leaving the public security concerns under his government. He had also blamed the home ministry over the deteriorating law and order situation. The police have arrested at least 10 people and are still looking for the main shooter and two alleged conspirators.

Notably, with splits and changes in the political sphere, it would be an uphill task for the incumbent MLA to retain his seat, given the huge challenge the opposition alliance would pose in the constituency. The MVA is yet to announce its candidate for Vandre East.

Taking to his social media platform, the Vandre East MLA said his father always fought for the poor and weaker sections of society and firmly believed in hard work and perseverance. “As a father, it was his dream to see me win these elections after all the work we have done in Vandre East, and now it is my duty to fulfill his dream and serve the people of Vandre East,” he wrote, adding that he will seek the people’s mandate and work tirelessly to advance the cause of his father, serving the people of Vandre East and beyond.

My father Baba Siddique ji always fought for the poor and weaker sections of the society and firmly believed in hard work & perseverance. As a father It was his dream to see me win these elections after all the work we have done in Vandre east and now it is my duty to fulfil his… pic.twitter.com/d7vUq6ptXn

— Zeeshan Siddique (@zeeshanBabaS) October 25, 2024