Former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique resigned from Congress on Thursday evening, after nearly 50 years with the party.
After Milind Deora, Baba Siddique is expected to join Ajit Pawar's NCP in a fresh blow to Congress. Siddique's move makes him the second major Maharashtra Congress figure to leave the party, following Deora.
"I 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 with immediate effect," the former congress leader tweeted on X.
"There’s a lot I would have liked to express but as they say some things are better left unsaid."
"I thank everyone who has been a part of this journey," he said.
Speculation about Baba Siddique's resignation surfaced lately when the Congress leader met with NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. There were reports that the ex-MLA from Mumbai was in talks to join the Ajit Pawar-led NCP soon.
Despite his exit, his son, Zeeshan Siddique, remains the Congress MLA for Mumbai's Bandra East constituency.
Ziauddin Siddique, commonly known as Baba Siddique, a prominent minority face of the Mumbai Congress, served as a minister during the Congress-NCP coalition's tenure. Siddique served as the MLA for three consecutive terms in 1999, 2004, and 2009.
He was also chairman of the Mumbai division of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority.
He was defeated by Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar in the 2014 Assembly polls.
