Zeeshan Siddique's Gamble With Ajit Pawar's NCP Switch Fails To Yield Bandra East Reward

Bandra East Assembly seat witnessed a three-cornered battle with NCP candidate Zeeshan Siddique pitted against Shiv Sena (UBT) pick Varun Sardesai and MNS leader Trupati Sawant.

NCP candidate Zeeshan Baba Siddique and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Varun Sardesai.

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Vandre East Election Result 2024: The Vandre East seat, which was once considered a strong bastion of the undivided Shiv Sena, witnessed a heated electoral contest as Baba Siddique's son Zeeshan Siddique competed against Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray's nephew Varun Sardesai. Another leader from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party Trupti Prakash Sawant was also in fray. Despite winning the seat on a Congress ticket in 2019, Zeeshan failed to reclaim it in the 2024 Maharashtra polls, losing to Sardesai.

Varun Sardesai has bagged 54,351 votes and is leading on the seat with a margin of 9805 votes, while Zeeshan Siddique has secured 44,546 votes, according to the Election Commission.

Zeeshan Siddique, who was once a part of the Congress party, contested the 2019 polls on the grand old party's ticket. However, he fought the 2024 Maharashtra polls from Vandre East on an NCP ticket. He joined the party in October and was given a ticket by Nationalist Congress Party chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Zeeshan is the son of NCP leader Baba Siddique, who was shot dead outside his office in Mumbai. Baba Siddique had also switched to the NCP from Congress in February this year.

Uddhav Thackeray fielded his nephew Varun Sardesai, who made his electoral debut from the Bandra East seat this year. Sardesai is banking on the political legacy he has due to his connection with the Thackerays, a family that holds a strong sway in Mumbai and in the traditional strongholds of Shiv Sena. Zeeshan Siddique, meanwhile, was said to have had the edge due to the sympathy of voters following his father's unfortunate demise.

About Vandre East Assembly Constituency

The Vandre East Assembly constituency is one of the 288 constituencies in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. It is a general seat which is located in the Mumbai Suburban district. Bandra East is part of the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency in the Mumbai Suburban district. 

There were a total of 2,49,104 registered voters for the 2024 Assembly election in Vandre East seat, which included 1,31,956 males, 1,17,127 female, and 21 of the third gender voters.

Zeeshan Siddique had won the Vandre East (also known as Bandra East) seat in the 2019 Assembly elections as a Congress candidate. He had defeated undivided Shiv Sena candidate Vishwanath Mahadeshwar by a margin of 5,883 votes. While Mahadeshwar won 32,547 votes, Zeeshan had secured 38,337 votes.

According to the Election Commission, around 2,51,371 eligible voters cast ballots in the Vandre East constituency during the previous 2019 Assembly Elections. Of these, 1,35,655 were male and 1,15,708 were female voters.

Voting for 288 seats of Maharashtra was held in single phase on November 20. The results were announced on November 23.