The firing comes months ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Baba Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister and member of the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, has died after being shot at in Mumbai’s Bandra.
Sources said three bullets were fired at Mr Siddique around 9.30 pm on Saturday at the office of his son Zeeshan, who is the MLA from Bandra East. Two people have been taken into custody.
Mr Siddique was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital and sources said at least one of the bullets hit him in the chest.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said he had spoken to police and people at the hospital. “The incident is extremely unfortunate. Two people have been arrested, one from Uttar Pradesh and one from Haryana, while another is on the run. I have asked the police to take strict action and ensure no one takes law and order into their hands. A gang-war-like situation should not be allowed to resurface in Mumbai,” he said in Marathi.
Mr Siddique, who was a three-time MLA from Bandra West, was associated with the Congress for 48 years and had quit the party in February and joined Ajit Pawar’s NCP. Zeeshan Siddique was expelled from the Congress in August.
The firing took place on Dussehra and came months ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, which are expected to be held later this year.
Expressing his shock, NCP Spokesperson Brijmohan Shrivastav told NDTV that Mr Siddique had not spoken about any threats from anybody.
Mr Siddique was elected as an MLA from the Bandra West constituency in 1999, 2004 and 2009 and served as a minister of state for food and civil supplies, labour and FDA between 2004 and 2008.
The former MLA was known not just for his political acumen but also for hosting lavish parties. A cold war between superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan was resolved at an iftaar party hosted by Mr Siddique in 2013.
Salman Khan and actor Sanjay Dutt have reached the hospital.
Law And Order Questions
Expressing grief at the death of Mr Siddique, leaders of opposition parties also raised questions about law and order in Mumbai, asking how a politician who had Y-level security could be killed in public in an upscale area like Bandra.
Anil Deshmukh, a former Maharashtra home minister and a leader from the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, asked that if leaders from the ruling parties are not safe in the state, how will common people feel a sense of security?
“The death of Baba Siddiqui today is very shocking and raises serious questions about law and order in the state. If the ruling leaders are not safe in Maharashtra, think what the condition of common people is. Is Maharashtra really becoming Uttar Pradesh or Bihar? This question has arisen on this occasion. Baba Siddiqui’s untimely demise has brought grief to his family and may God give them the strength to bear it,” he wrote in Marathi on X.
