Weakening Congress In Maharashtra: After Milind Deora, Former Minister Baba Siddique Leaves Party Ending Decades Of Association

After Milind Deora's departure from the party, another setback comes for Maharashtra Congress as former Minister Baba Siddique resigned from the primary membership of the party on Thursday (8 February).

Siddique did not elaborate on reasons for leaving Congress as he said, "There’s a lot I would have liked to express but as they say, some things are better left unsaid."

Siddique expressed that he joined the Congress as a young teenager and had a "significant journey lasting 48 years". He thanked everyone who was part of his journey.

Notably, Deora also mentioned ending the 55-year relationship of his family with the party while leaving Congress and joining Eknath Shind-led Shiv Sena last month.

Senior Congress leaders leaving the party after decades of association might be a worrying sign for the Congress, especially at a time when it has to negotiate seat-sharing with its allies, NCP (Sharad Pawar) and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

Baba Siddique is currently an MLA from Vandre (East) constituency in Mumbai. He was a food and civil supplies Minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh Cabinet between 2004 and 2008.

He was earlier elected as an MLA from Vandre (West) in 2009. He has been serving as the Chairperson and Senior Vice President of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee since 2014.

Interestingly, Deora too had represented the Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency by winning elections in 2004 and 2009. This means the recent departures weaken the Congress in Mumbai region especially.