In a major organisational reshuffle within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), party legislator Zeeshan Siddique was appointed as the Mumbai Regional President. The formal appointment letter was handed over to Siddique on Tuesday by NCP National President and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar.

The appointment letter emphasises continuing the progressive legacy of late leader Ajit Dada Pawar, upholding the tradition of public service, and strengthening the party’s grassroots commitment to the common citizens.

Zeeshan Siddique, who lost the 2024 Assembly elections from Bandra East constituency, is the son of the late veteran politician Baba Siddique. The NCP leadership expressed firm confidence that under Siddique’s stewardship, energy, and dedication, the party organisation in Mumbai will become significantly stronger, more effective, and deeply people-centric.

The appointment marks a crucial step for the NCP as it reorganises its leadership framework in India’s financial capital to bolster its urban outreach and grassroots influence.

Zeeshan’s appointment comes when NCP had failed to increase its tally in the recently held BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation elections. The party is struggling to consolidate its presence in Mumbai. NCP has historically struggled to establish a dominant presence in Mumbai’s municipal and Assembly politics compared to its formidable strength in western Maharashtra (such as Pune, Satara, and Kolhapur) and the Sugar Belt.

Historically and currently, the NCP functions primarily as a coalition player rather than a lead power within Mumbai. Out of Mumbai’s 36 Legislative Assembly seats and 227 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) wards, the NCP has historically held only a tiny fraction of seats (often 1-3 Assembly seats at peak).

Areas with notable Muslim population demographics (such as parts of Kurla, Anushakti Nagar, or Shivaji Nagar/Mankhurd) have occasionally elected NCP candidates. Pockets housing migrants from Western Maharashtra and Marathwada living in Mumbai offer localised support due to loyalty to rural NCP leadership. Following the July 2023 split into NCP (Ajit Pawar) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), the already thin Mumbai grassroots apparatus has divided further.

NCP (Ajit Pawar) operates as part of the ruling Mahayuti coalition, relying on state cabinet resources and alliance seat-sharing. NCP insiders said that the party’s core branding, network, and patronage systems are rooted in agrarian politics, sugar cooperatives, and rural local bodies (Zilla Parishads).

Translating this structure into Mumbai’s cosmopolitan, middle-class, and urban slum dynamics has proven difficult, and Zeeshan Siddique faces a major challenge to spread the party’s wings ahead of the next Lok Sabha and Assembly polls slated for 2029.

Observers said that Mumbai’s urban electorate has traditionally favoured the Shiv Sena (both UBT and Shinde factions) for Marathi identity and local civic issues, or the BJP for urban governance and middle-class appeal. Because the NCP partnered with the Indian National Congress (INC) for decades in Maharashtra, seat-sharing agreements historically allocated the vast majority of Mumbai constituencies to Congress, severely limiting the NCP’s opportunity to field candidates and build a city-wide organisation. Most prominent NCP’s heavyweight leaders draw their base from rural constituencies.

The party lacks high-profile, born-and-bred Mumbai leaders capable of driving a citywide narrative. Siddique will have to focus on building dedicated urban-centric agendas (housing redevelopment, slum rehabilitation, local transport), grooming local youth leadership directly from Mumbai’s colleges and trade unions rather than importing rural cadres and leveraging coalition partnerships effectively to claim non-traditional urban seats during BMC and Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, NCP President Sunetra Pawar has appointed Umesh Patil as National Chief Spokesperson.

Responding to opposition pushback against the proposed Pumped Storage Hydro Project in Karjat in Raigad district, Chief Minister Fadnavis on Tuesday firmly defended the infrastructure initiative as eco-friendly and crucial for Maharashtra’s power grid stability.

While solar and wind power generate clean energy, they cannot operate 24/7. Pumped storage provides a non-polluting solution to balance renewable sources and guarantee round-the-clock uninterrupted power supply, he said.

CM’s defence comes as the project has sparked severe political friction and concern among environmentalists due to extensive tree-felling clearance required in the region.

Addressing the controversy, CM Fadnavis asserted that the opposition is politicising a vital green energy initiative without a proper understanding of the technical requirements.

CM Fadnavis said that the 3,000 MW project offsets thermal power generation that would otherwise require planting 28 crore trees to offset coal pollution.

As part of environmental mitigation, 90,000 trees will be planted by the forest department, alongside an additional 60,000 trees planted directly on the Karjat project site.

Acknowledging that some trees are being cleared, he stressed that this environmental impact is temporary. By establishing a clean energy storage system, the state is preventing thousands of times more environmental degradation in the future.

He noted that generating equivalent energy via traditional coal-based power plants would cause massive pollution—comparable to the emissions of 40 million vehicles.

Unlike conventional battery storage systems that last around 25 years, pumped storage infrastructure operates effectively for up to 80 years, protecting the environment for generations.

Explaining why solar and wind energy alone are insufficient (as they are not available 24/7 and destabilise the power grid), CM Fadnavis stated that pumped storage acts as an essential green grid-support mechanism.

He emphasised that pump-storage technology has an operational lifespan of around 80 years and is critical for securing clean power for future generations.

Refuting opposition claims, CM Fadnavis highlighted that China has developed over 60,000 MW of similar pumped storage infrastructure and emphasised that Karjat was selected through strict feasibility assessments.

Comparing the opposition’s stance to the past legal disputes surrounding the Aarey Car Shed project—which was eventually cleared by the Supreme Court—CM Fadnavis stated that the state government remains open to listening to genuine concerns, but criticised politicking around essential clean-energy infrastructure.

Addressing demands from critics to relocate the project to regions like Marathwada or Vidarbha, the Chief Minister clarified that pumped-storage infrastructure cannot be built just anywhere; it requires specific geographical terrain and topography, making Karjat an ideal site.

The state government maintains that the project is completely eco-friendly, situated outside the boundaries of the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary, and vital for Maharashtra’s sustainable energy transition.

Mumbai – The report of a committee—formed to review the ‘7/12’ land record entries for ‘Waqf’ properties (valued at hundreds of billions of rupees) and to formulate a policy for the distribution of land acquisition compensation—has remained pending for over three years. Rais Shaikh, a Samajwadi Party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Bhiwandi East, has expressed concern that the Minority Development Department and the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have failed to address the issues faced by the Muslim community with the necessary seriousness. In a letter addressed to the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Minority Development, Supriya Pawar, MLA Rais Shaikh has demanded immediate action on this matter.

There are 23,566 registered ‘Waqf’ properties in the state, spanning an area of ​​approximately 92,247 acres. These properties are subject to large-scale encroachment, and many private individuals claim ownership over them. On September 21, 2023, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of the then-Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar. The meeting addressed several key issues: reviewing the ‘7/12’ land record entries, formulating a policy for the distribution of land acquisition compensation, removing the names of private individuals from these records, and ensuring that the names of ‘Waqf’ institutions and the ‘Waqf Board’ are officially recorded.

Following this meeting, the Minority Development Department constituted a four-member committee on October 17, 2023, with instructions to submit its report within one month. However, the report has not been submitted, even long after the stipulated deadline has passed. MLA Rais Shaikh has raised the question: if reports are not submitted within the timeframe set by the government, then what is the purpose of forming committees and issuing administrative orders?

This delay in the report concerning ‘Waqf’ properties cannot be dismissed as mere administrative lethargy. MLA Rais Shaikh has demanded that the relevant department clarify the reasons for this delay and fix responsibility in the matter. Progress on issues related to ‘Waqf’ properties—which were brought to the fore through the initiative of the then-Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar—should have continued even after he left his post. Yet, many issues faced by the Muslim community remain unresolved. In light of this, MLA Rais Shaikh has questioned, via a letter, whether the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the state government are according appropriate priority to the concerns of the Muslim community.

Matters such as the registration of ‘Waqf’ properties and the payment of compensation for land acquisition directly affect the property rights and financial interests of the concerned institutions. It is imperative to resolve the uncertainty surrounding these issues and reach a definitive conclusion. Rather than relying on mere verbal assurances, concrete decisions must be taken and effectively implemented.