Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Oct 28: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC Zeeshan Siddique on Wednesday thanked the party leadership for appointing him as the party’s Mumbai Regional President and pledged to live up to the trust reposed in him.
The formal appointment letter was handed over to Siddique by NCP National President and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar.
Speaking to reporters, Siddique described the appointment as a major responsibility entrusted to him by Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar.
"It is a very big responsibility that Sunetra Vahini and Parth Dada have given me under their leadership today by appointing me as the Mumbai President of the Nationalist Congress Party. This is a very big thing for my entire team and me. Holding high the flag of the Nationalist Congress Party in Mumbai is now my responsibility," he said.
"Vahini has always been a motherly figure to me, and Parth Dada has always been like an elder brother to me. I will live up to their trust. Earlier as well, they gave me the MLC post, and after that, they made me the Mumbai President," he added.
Siddique, who lost the 2024 Assembly elections from the Bandra East constituency, is the son of veteran politician late Baba Siddique. The NCP leadership expressed confidence that his stewardship, energy and dedication would help strengthen the party organisation in Mumbai and make it more effective and people-centric.
Recalling his father, Zeeshan said he would have been delighted to see him entrusted with such a major responsibility.
"My father would have been very happy for me today, seeing that such a big responsibility has been given to me. Wherever he is, he must be smiling. Remembering him and Ajit Dada, I will move forward. The values and upbringing my father gave me, I will keep that in mind and walk on the same path," he said.
The appointment comes as the NCP seeks to reorganise its leadership in Mumbai and expand its urban outreach and grassroots influence. The party has struggled to consolidate its presence in the city and failed to increase its tally in the recently held Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Unlike its strong base in western Maharashtra, particularly Pune, Satara and Kolhapur, as well as the sugar belt, the NCP has historically struggled to establish a dominant position in Mumbai’s municipal and Assembly politics.
The party has largely functioned as a coalition partner rather than a dominant political force in the city. Mumbai has 36 Assembly constituencies and 227 BMC wards, but the NCP has traditionally held only a small share of seats, with its Assembly representation at its peak often limited to one to three constituencies.
Parts of Kurla, Anushakti Nagar and Shivaji Nagar-Mankhurd, which have sizeable Muslim populations, have occasionally elected NCP candidates. The party has also drawn localised support from migrants from western Maharashtra and Marathwada who maintain ties with its rural leadership.
The July 2023 split in the NCP, which resulted in separate factions led by Ajit Pawar and Sharadchandra Pawar, further divided the party’s already limited grassroots network in Mumbai.
Siddique now faces the challenge of expanding the party’s influence and strengthening its organisational structure in the financial capital.