Baba Siddique: The Nelson Mandela of Bandra
Yesterday in the middle of the night, my wife woke me up with the news that someone shot an ex-minister in Mumbai. I asked who and she said: Baba Siddique. It was too late to quibble (hardly befitting of a married man) or start a diatribe on the state of Indian journalism, so I let it pass but calling Baba Siddique an ex-Minister is like calling Raghu Karnad Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger co-star or Salman Khan an amateur deer hunter.
Incidentally, the Bishnoi gang, which takes credit for everything that happens around the world including the earth spinning on its own axis, has already claimed responsibility for the act. Perhaps, there’s something to the rumour about the Bishnoi gang targeting those close to Selmon Bhai but to understand Baba Siddique’s gigantic influence, perhaps Salman is the best example. There’s an iconic video of Salman Khan and then-CM Narendra Modi in 2014 where he tells an audience of hardcore Modi fans in Gujarat that they should vote for the “best man” and adds that his “best men” are Baba Siddique and Priya Dutt.
That moment epitomised Baba Siddique’s huge influence in both Bandra and Mumbai politics, and by extension Bollywood. Sunil Dutt considered him a second son and he was virtually untouchable in his Bandra seat. He would later mentor his daughter Priya Dutt. His Iftar parties were considered legendary and long before there were influencers, he pulled off the greatest peacekeeping mission of all time – harder than bringing peace in the Middle East – when he helped reconcile Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan in 2013, after five years of feuding that began in a 2008 party after SRK had reportedly refused to do a cameo for Salman. So, when you see Tiger rushing to Pathaan’s aid with painkillers and coffee, it’s because of Baba Siddique.
A dyed-in-the-wool Congress politician, Siddique left in February last year and joined the Ajit Pawar faction of Congress, and memorably said that Congress treated him like “curry leaves to enhance the taste of food”. His son Zeeshan even added that Rahul Gandhi’s aides had fat-shamed him, saying he needed to shed 10 kilos if he wanted to walk with Rahul Gandhi.
The insouciance of political scions aside, it says much about the state of Indian journalism that one hasn’t encountered a proper obituary about one of the most influential men in Mumbai politics. Legend has it, that he brokered peace between the veteran Sunil Dutt and Bal Thackeray when the former’s son Sanjay Dutt went to jail. Many years ago, PM Modi had compared the late Sukhbir Singh Badal to Nelson Mandela. That would have been an apt sobriquet for Siddique who was definitely the Nelson Mandela of Bandra and a peacekeeper (or peacebroker depending upon your worldview) par excellence.