5 min readMumbaiJan 23, 2026 01:24 PM IST
First published on: Jan 23, 2026 at 01:24 PM IST
A reel of a burqa clad young woman asking “Kaisa haraya”, with a glint in her eye and a taunting smirk, has gone viral on social media. Another clip from the same victory speech, in which she refers to “turning the city green”, has drawn police notices, political backlash and accusations of communalising Mumbra’s polity, catapulting her into national attention.
The woman at the centre of the controversy is 29 year old Sahar Shaikh, one of the youngest corporators elected from Mumbra in the Thane Municipal Corporation elections. Contesting on an All India Majlis e Ittehad ul Muslimeen ticket, Shaikh won from Ward No 30, defeating candidates backed by rival Nationalist Congress Party factions in what is considered a stronghold of four time local MLA Jitendra Awhad in the Kalwa Mumbra belt, an area with a dominant Muslim population.
Responding to the allegations, Shaikh rejected the charge of communal intent. “ I said green as the AIMIM flag was green and had nothing to do with any religious comment. I am a secular person and people should stop communal politics,” Sahar Shaikh told The Indian Express, a day after BJP leaders Kirit Somaiya and Niranjan Davkhare filed a police complaint accusing her of indulging in communal politics and attempting to divide people on religious lines. In the same victory speech where she mentioned kaisa haraya, she said, “Even in the next municipal elections after five years inshallah we have to give them an even stronger message and all candidates should be from AIMIM. Mumbra must be completely painted green.”
While Shaikh has drawn criticism from both the BJP and parties that describe themselves as secular for her and her father’s sharp verbal attacks on Jitendra Awhad, her rise also reflects a broader political shift. A recent entrant into the AIMIM, Shaikh symbolises the growing political assertion of young Muslims who are increasingly looking for alternatives to established parties and gravitating towards the AIMIM. This trend was evident in the recent civic polls, where the party won 125 corporator seats across Maharashtra.
Shaikh’s entry into the AIMIM came after she was denied a ticket by the NCP Sharad Pawar faction, which Awhad effectively controls in Thane. A Bachelor of Management Studies graduate from Mumbai University in 2017, Shaikh comes from a politically active family. Her father, Yunus Shaikh, has been a long time associate of Awhad, who holds a distinctive place in Maharashtra politics, having been elected three times from a constituency where Muslims account for nearly 44 percent of the electorate. Yunus Shaikh was part of Awhad’s inner circle and worked closely with him to build his political base in the constituency.
According to the family, it was Awhad who encouraged Sahar to become active in politics. What followed was a sustained outreach effort that combined social work on the ground with self promotion through social media. Shaikh used her Instagram account to post short clips, many of which went viral, helping her build a following of 4.32 lakh followers.
In most videos, she is seen wearing a lapel microphone attached to her scarf, appealing to residents to keep their surroundings clean and urging them to “not throw old furniture and mattress into drains”.
Other clips show her cutting ribbons at newly opened shops, speaking about securing school admissions for children under the Right to Education Act, participating in sanitisation drives, and walking along overflowing nullahs to draw attention to civic problems and demand action from authorities.
However, close to the elections, Shaikh was denied a ticket by Awhad, triggering strong resentment within the family. “My daughter was preparing for IAS and it was Awhad who insisted that she become active in politics. After all her hard work, he had the gall to deny her a ticket and is promoting people at the expense of old supporters like me,” said her father Yunus, a local businessman and social activist.
It was following this break that Yunus Shaikh approached the AIMIM just days before the polls. The party, which was looking to expand its footprint in the region, offered Sahar a ticket. Banking on her established popularity on social media and the groundwork done by her father, she secured 12,964 votes. She defeated Rumana Shaikh of the NCP Sharad Pawar faction, who polled 7,665 votes, and Siddiqui Farha of the NCP Ajit Pawar faction, who received 6,057 votes.
The police notice appears to have made Shaikh more cautious in the immediate aftermath of her victory. Maintaining a low profile, she is keen to emphasise that she is not a provocateur. Describing herself as a basketball player and a make up artist, Shaikh said, “ Earlier I had an Instagram page dedicated to make up and lifestyle tips for women which was popular. However, my father has been in politics for nearly three decades and seeing the work he did up close, I always wanted to take that path.”
The woman at the centre of the controversy is 29 year old Sahar Shaikh, one of the youngest corporators elected from Mumbra in the Thane Municipal Corporation elections. (Express photo) 
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