In a major blow to the Indian National Congress (INC), former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique has decided to quit the party with immediate effect on Thursday after 48 years of association. Siddique said there was a lot he “would have liked to express but as they say some things are better left unsaid”.
Announcing his decision to quit the grand-old party on X, Baba Siddique said, “I joined the Indian National Congress party as a young teenager and it has been a significant journey lasting 48 years. Today I resign from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress Party with immediate effect. There’s a lot I would have liked to express but as they say some things are better left unsaid.”
Baba Siddique’s son Zeeshan is currently a Congress MLA from Bandra (East).
Today’s development comes just days after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders had said that Siddique was expected to join the faction of the party led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, India Today reported.
Siddique’s resignation in another big blow to Congress in a span of few weeks. Earlier on January 14, senior Congress leader Milind Deora, considered a close friend of Rahul Gandhi, announced his resignation from the grand-old party, bringing an end to his family’s 55-year association with Congress. He later joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction.
Also Read: Hours after quitting Congress, Milind Deora joins Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena
Who is Baba Siddique?
A three-time MLA from the Bandra West constituency, Siddique was the former minister of state for food and civil supplies. He was also the chairman of the Mumbai division of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority.
Siddique was elected to the Maharashtra Assembly from the Bandra West constituency in 1999, 2004 and 2009. He was later defeated by Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar in the 2014 Assembly polls.