Maharashtra: Days after quitting Congress, Baba Siddique joins Nationalist Congress Party

Days after his exit from the Congress, former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique joined the Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday, reported the Hindustan Times.

“My condition in the Congress was how curry leaves are used to enhance the taste of food,” Siddique said after being inducted into the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by by Ajit Pawar, reported NDTV. Siddique claimed that the Congress had been using him to attract Muslim votes.

Siddique said that he recently met with former Union minister and working president of the Nationalist Congress Party Praful Patel, “after which it was decided that I have to work in the NCP under the leadership of Ajit Pawar”, reported NDTV.

The development comes after a group of MLAs led by Ajit Pawar was recognised as the real Nationalist Congress Party by the Election Commission earlier this week.

In July, Ajit Pawar and several MLAs of the Nationalist Congress Party joined Maharashtra’s ruling coalition comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. This had split the party, with one faction supporting Ajit Pawar and the other backing his uncle and party founder Sharad Pawar.

Before quitting the Congress, Siddique was the chairperson of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee. He was also on the parliamentary board of...

Read more