MUMBAI: Zeeshan Baba Siddique, son of the late Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique, has joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and has been nominated to contest from the Vandre East (Bandra East) seat. Zeeshan, a sitting MLA, was expelled from Congress in August for cross-voting during the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections.

Baba Siddique, a three-time MLA, was tragically shot dead while leaving his Bandra office on October 12. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has since claimed responsibility for the attack. Following his father's death, Zeeshan left the Congress after a long association and joined the NCP.

Joining the NCP in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Zeeshan expressed his desire to carry on his father's legacy of serving the poor and marginalized. "It was my father's 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 that dream and serve the people of Vandre East," he said.

In the 2019 Assembly election, Zeeshan received 38,337 votes, defeating Shiv Sena's Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, then mayor of Mumbai, by a margin of 5,790 votes. This year, he will face Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) candidate Varun Desai, leader of the party’s youth wing, Yuva Sena (UBT), and cousin of Aaditya Thackeray.

Recently, the Yuva Sena, led by Aaditya, achieved a significant victory in the Mumbai University senate polls, securing all 10 graduate seats and defeating the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.

The Bandra East assembly constituency located in the heart of Mumbai, is one of the 26 Vidhan Sabha constituencies located in Mumbai Suburban district and stands out as a vibrant and diverse electoral segment in Mumbai, characterized by its unique demographic mix of Muslim and a substantial Marathi-speaking population. This diverse composition of the constituency makes it a challenging yet rewarding constituency for political aspirants. 

Along with Zeeshan the NCP also named senior party leader Nawab Malik’s daughter Sana Malik as the candidate for Anushakti Nagar. The party which is contesting the polls as part of the Mahayuti, in alliance with the BJP, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has so far declared 45 candidates for the assembly polls.