Baba Siddique

Baba Ziauddin Siddique (13 September 1958 – 12 October 2024) was an Indian politician who was a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the state of Maharashtra for the Vandre West Assembly constituency. He was the MLA for three consecutive terms in 1999, 2004 and 2009, and had also served as Minister of State for Food & Civil Supplies (FDA) and Labour under Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh between 2004 and 2008.

Siddique had also served as Municipal Corporator earlier for two consecutive terms between 1992 and 1997. Before his death, he served as the Chairperson & Senior Vice President of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee & Parliamentary Board of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. On 8 February 2024, he resigned from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress. He later joined the Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar on 12 February 2024.

Siddique was shot dead on 12 October 2024 in front of his son Zeeshan's office.

Political Career

Ziauddin Siddique, also known as Baba Siddique, joined the Indian National Congress (INC), as a teenager, in 1977. He participated in various students' movements of the time as a member of the Mumbai chapter of the National Students Union of India – the student’s wing of the INC. He went on to become the General Secretary of the Bandra Taluka of the Bandra Youth Congress in 1980 and was elected its president within the next two years. In 1988, he became president of the Mumbai Youth Congress. Four years later he was elected a Municipal Councilor in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation and was re-elected to the position five years later. He became an MLA in 1999 from the Bandra West Assembly Constituency. He was re-elected in 2004 and 2009, thus, so far, serving three consecutive terms. Siddique was also appointed Chairman of the MHADA Mumbai Board by the Government of Maharashtra to serve from 2000-2004. He was also appointed Minister of State for Food & Civil Supplies, Labour, FDA and Consumer Protection for the Government of Maharashtra and served from 2004–2008. In 2011, he funded the creation of an Eco-Garden in Bandra-Khar.

Positions held

• Member of the National Students Union of India (Mumbai) (1977)
• General Secretary of the Bandra Taluka of the Bandra Youth Congress (1980)
• President of the Bandra Taluka of the Bandra Youth Congress (1982)
• Municipal Councilor in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (1993–98), (1998–2003)
• Member of legislative Assembly (MLA) - (1999–2004), (2004–09) and (2009–14)
• Minister of State for Food & Civil Supplies, Labour and FDA, (2004–08)
• Chairman, MHADA Mumbai Board (2000-2004)
• Chairperson & Senior Vice President of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (2014)
• Parliamentary Board of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (2019)
• Member of the Nationalist Congress Party (incumbent). Assumed office on 12 February 2024

Personal life

Baba Siddique was married to Shehzeen Siddique. They had two children; a daughter, Arshia Siddique, and a son, Zeeshan Siddique.

Death

Baba Siddique was shot on 12 October 2024 by three attackers in Mumbai. He was then rushed to Lilavati Hospital where he was declared dead. He was 66 years old. Sources said three bullets were fired at Siddique around 9:30 pm near the office of his son, Zeeshan, who is the MLA from Bandra East. Two people were taken into custody, identified as Gurmail Baljit Singh from Haryana and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh. The police have named two more suspects, Shiv Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, and Mohammad Zeeshan Akhtar. The Mumbai Police have confirmed that the gang led by Lawrence Bishnoi, currently in jail, was involved in the assassination.