NCP’s Zeeshan Siddique Loses to Shiv Sena’s Varun Sardesai in Bandra East Showdown
The Bandra East Assembly seat witnessed a fierce three-way electoral battle, with NCP candidate Zeeshan Siddique going head-to-head against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Varun Sardesai and MNS contender Trupti Prakash Sawant.
Mumbai: The Bandra East Assembly seat witnessed a fierce three-way electoral battle, with NCP candidate Zeeshan Siddique going head-to-head against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Varun Sardesai and MNS contender Trupti Prakash Sawant. Despite his previous victory on a Congress ticket in 2019, Zeeshan Siddique was unable to reclaim the seat in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, losing to Sardesai.
As per the Election Commission’s data, Varun Sardesai secured 54,351 votes, leading the race by a margin of 9,805 votes over Zeeshan Siddique, who garnered 44,546 votes. Sardesai’s win marked a significant victory for the Shiv Sena (UBT) in what was once a stronghold of the undivided Shiv Sena.
Zeeshan Siddique, son of NCP leader Baba Siddique, had joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) under Ajit Pawar’s leadership in October and was fielded as the party’s candidate for Bandra East. Despite his father’s tragic assassination and the resulting voter sympathy, Zeeshan could not convert this into electoral success.
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Varun Sardesai, making his political debut, capitalized on the Thackeray family’s enduring influence in Mumbai. The nephew of Uddhav Thackeray, Sardesai relied on the Shiv Sena’s legacy to secure his victory in this high-stakes contest.
The Bandra East Assembly Constituency
The Bandra East (Vandre East) Assembly constituency, located in the Mumbai Suburban district, is one of 288 constituencies in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. It falls under the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency and serves as a significant battleground in Maharashtra politics.
In the 2024 elections, the constituency recorded 2,49,104 registered voters, including 1,31,956 men, 1,17,127 women, and 21 third-gender voters.
Zeeshan Siddique had previously won this seat in 2019 on a Congress ticket, defeating Shiv Sena’s Vishwanath Mahadeshwar by 5,883 votes. The 2024 contest, however, proved challenging for him as the political landscape shifted, with Shiv Sena (UBT) reclaiming its ground.
Key Highlights:
- Date of Election: November 20, 2024
- Results Declared: November 23, 2024
- Winning Candidate: Varun Sardesai (Shiv Sena-UBT)
- Runner-Up: Zeeshan Siddique (NCP)
The result is a setback for Zeeshan Siddique and Ajit Pawar’s faction of the NCP, while it reinforces Shiv Sena (UBT)’s dominance in Mumbai’s suburban regions.
