Baba Siddique, a well-known figure in Bollywood and a former minister from Maharashtra, joined Ajit Pawars Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday, just days after the Congressman announced his decision to end his 48-year relationship with the party on February 8. While it was widely known that Baba Siddique would be joining Ajit Pawars NCP, no formal announcement had been made prior to the official event on February 10. This move is significant for the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, especially since the Election Commission recognised Ajit Pawars NCP as the genuine thing. Last year, Ajit Pawar broke away from Sharad Pawars NCP and joined the Sena (Eknath Shinde)-BJP (Devendra Fadnavis) government.Baba Siddique previously posted on X on his political journey with congress that lasted over 48 years, which he joined as a teenager , looking back to when he broke the alliance with the grend old INC partyI 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 @INCIndia with immediate effect. Theres a lot I would have liked to express…— Baba Siddique (@BabaSiddique) February 8, 2024Maharashtra politics shake up!The resignation of Baba Siddique from the Congress was the partys second major setback before the election, as former Union minister Milind Deora also left the party to join Eknath Shindes Sena faction due to issues with seat sharing between the Congress and the Uddhav Sena. As a member of the INDIA bloc, the Congress, Uddhav Balasaheb Thackerays Shiv Sena, and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (the NCP group led by Sharad Pawar) will compete in the Maharashtra Lok Sabha election.More on Babas Political voyageIn addition to serving as the chairperson and senior vice president of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee and the parliamentary board of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, Baba Siddique was an MLA for three terms in a row (1999, 2004 and 2009). He had previously held positions as a municipal corporator for two terms (1992–1997), as well as a minister of state for labour, food and civil supplies, and the FDA (2004–08).
