Baba Siddique's son Zeeshan joins Ajit Pawar's NCP, will contest polls from Bandra East

Zeeshan Siddique, son of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, joined the NCP faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday. He had previously denied the accusation that he had cross-voted in the Maharashtra legislative council elections, which led to his expulsion from the Congress in August.

After joining NCP, Zeeshan Siddiqui says, "This is an emotional day for me and my family. I am thankful to Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare for believing in me in these tough times. I have got the nomination from Bandra East, I am sure that with the love and support of all the people, I will definitely win Bandra East ye again..."

Shortly after joining the NCP, Zeeshan, an incumbent MLA for Bandra East, was put up against Varun Sirdesai, a candidate for the Shiv Sena (UBT), in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. In a seat-sharing agreement, MVA allies will each run for 85 seats, with the remaining 33 going to minor parties. Uddhav Thackeray's party has been awarded the Vandre East seat.

Baba Siddiqui, 66, was shot dead outside Zeeshan Siddique's office in Bandra on October 12. A total of 14 people have been arrested and police are probing different angles, including contract killing and business rivalry, to establish what was behind the murder. A former Maharashtra minister, Baba Siddiqui was Congress MLA from Vandre from 1999-2009. After the seat was dissolved and bifurcated, he represented Vandre West from 2009-14. Earlier this year, he quit the Congress and joined the Ajit Pawar faction of NCP.