Ex-Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique resigns from Congress after 48 years

'There's a lot I would have liked to express but as they say some things are better left unsaid,' said Baba Siddique

Former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique resigned from the Congress on Thursday with immediate effect. Baba Siddique had been associated with the Congress for 48 years.

"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," Baba Siddique wrote on X (formally Twitter).

"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," Baba Siddique added.

Baba Siddique was the MLA for three consecutive terms in 1999, 2004 and 2009, and had also served as a Minister of State (MoS) for Food & Civil Supplies, Labour and FDA (2004–08). He had also served as a Municipal Corporator earlier for two consecutive terms (1992–1997). He currently serves as the chairperson and senior vice president of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee and parliamentary board of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.

The move comes just days after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders said that Siddique was expected to join the faction of the party led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, reported India Today.

Siddique’s resignation in another setback to Congress in a span of few weeks. Earlier on January 14, senior Congress leader Milind Deora, considered a close friend of Rahul Gandhi, announced his resignation from the grand-old party, bringing an end to his family’s 55-year association with Congress. He later joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction.