Why ex-minister Naseemudin Siddiqui’s exit is a big blow for Congress in UP

Although he did not hold a significant position at present, party sources say Siddiqui had been feeling sidelined for some time. Two recent incidents, including being left out at the airport during Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the state, are said to have triggered his decision. Siddiqui, however, has denied that the airport episode influenced his resignation. “I was unable to work in my own style, which is grassroots-based. I did not have any significant work. For long, I felt I was unable to utilise my abilities within the Congress. I have 36 years of experience. I joined the party to contribute, but that did not happen,” he said after announcing his resignation.

Sources close to Siddiqui say he has been approached by the SP, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief Chandra Shekhar Azad. While Siddiqui is yet to take a final call, leaders within the Congress feel that more than the loss of an individual leader, it is the political message his exit sends that could prove difficult to manage.

“He is a cadre-based leader. More than an individual face, he has the ability to build organisation, particularly in western Uttar Pradesh. After his exit, the party will largely depend on Imran Masood as its minority face in the region. What is worrying is the signal this sends at a time when we are trying to consolidate minorities and Dalits,” a Congress leader said.

Siddiqui, who began his political career in Banda district of the Bundelkhand region, was once regarded as a close lieutenant of BSP chief Mayawati. He won his first Assembly election from Banda in 1991 and went on to serve as a minister in successive BSP governments in 1995, 1997 and 2002. His influence peaked between 2007 and 2012 during the BSP’s full-majority tenure, when he emerged as one of the most powerful ministers.

However, the BSP’s poor performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, where the party drew a blank, and later in the 2017 Assembly polls – where it managed to win just 19 of the 403 seats – led to the exit of several senior leaders, including Siddiqui. The party expelled him and his son — who had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 elections — on charges of “anti-party activities”. Siddiqui, in turn, made public allegations against Mayawati following his exit from the party.

A year later following prolonged deliberations, Siddiqui joined the Congress in the presence of then AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad and state party chief Raj Babbar. He was included in key party panels and, in 2019, was appointed president of the Congress’s western zone after the party divided its state unit into six organisational zones.

Apart from the BSP and SP, sources say that leaders such as former minister and Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party (RSSP) chief Swami Prasad Maurya have approached Siddiqui. With the Opposition keen to consolidate minority, Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Dalit support ahead of the Assembly elections, Siddiqui — who claims to have the backing of over 70 influential groups across regions — has emerged as a key political catch, and a significant loss for the Congress.