'Nawab Malik Joined Hands with NCP-BJP Because...': Fahad Ahmad Interview

Video Editor: Kriti Saxena

"Sometimes I say that because of whatever I do, Swara's career has been compromised. She tells me that I quit high paying jobs to do this. We just conclude that if we get the chance, we would do it all over again. If we were doing what we used to, we would not have been happy. Today, we are," said Fahad Ahmad, activist-turned-politician who is contesting the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections from Mumbai's Anushakti Nagar.

Married to Bollywood star Swara Bhasker, Fahad is contesting on a Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCPSP) ticket against Sana Malik, daughter of NCP heavyweight Nawab Malik.

The seat is considered to be Malik's bastion with him having won it twice in the past three elections. But Ahmad had a grievance after being asked about beating Malik's political legacy.

"Anushakti Nagar is not a toy to be passed on from a father to his daughter. If he was so confident, why did he not contest? In a democracy, since the time Babasaheb Ambedkar wrote India's Constitution, the voters are the rulers. We should stop using these old terminologies like 'this bastion and that bastion," he said.

Nawab Malik was the biggest point of contention between the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), when it came to fielding candidates ahead of the elections. The man was credited with unveiling the alleged 'wrongdoings' of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and successfully driving the narrative against the BJP, while insinuating planned targeting of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in a drugs case. Why then, did he choose to side with the ruling alliance after the NCP split?

On 'Badi Badi Baatein', Ahmad talks about the issues of the constituency, why Nawab Malik's legacy does not bother him, and his contest with opponent Sana Malik.

Why did you choose to contest from Anushakti Nagar?

For me, Mumbai is equal to Anushakti Nagar. From the day I have moved here, I have lived here, I studied here. I also contested student election from Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) which is in Anushakti Nagar. There is a video on The Quint as well when I had returned my TISS degree over issues of Dalit students. I have protested here and I have learnt what it is to live among the people and work for them. So, Mumbai is equal to Anushakti Nagar for me.

There was a lot of politicking over this seat. This is considered the bastion of Nawab Malik who was seen staunchly opposing the ruling alliance with the BJP. Now, he is a part of Mr Ajit Pawar's NCP. Do you worry about the political legacy he has established over the past 10-15 years in the constituency?

Anushakti Nagar is not a toy to be passed on to the daughter. If he was so confident, why did he not contest? In a democracy, since the time Babasaheb Ambedkar wrote India's Constitution, the voters are the rulers. We should stop using these old terminologies like 'this bastion and that bastion.' It doesn't belong to one person, no matter what party they are from. The person who could not make a library in 15 years, what legacy does he claim? The people will not accept it.

What are the issues of Anushaktui Nagar that two MLAs in the past 15 years could not resolve?

We live in the financial capital of the country. Right to life is a fundamental right. And right to life is attached to right to water. Even today, several areas in the Anushakti Nagar constituency do not have access to drinking water. People are having to fetch it by climbing up hills with 20-litre containers on their heads. In the past 15 years, no step was taken for the betterment of education here. As a result, the influx of drugs increased. For the children in schools, there was not a single library built. We are in a highly dense area. But for women, the people, there wasn't a single 100-200 bed hospital constructed. There are three big companies here - BARC, HPCL, and BPCL but nothing was done to get people employment there. I am contesting the eletion on these issues. If I am elected, I will begin work on these issues from 24 November itself.

Nawab Malik is now a part of the ruling alliance that he staunchly opposed in the past. In the entire controversy around the Aryan Khan case, he was seen as the crusader who unearthed the mess in it. Do you think the political switch will impact him?

At the time of the Aryan Khan case, even I used to think that he is a crusader. But then I visited Anushakti Nagar. It is one thing to speak about drugs, but he helped in the Aryan Khan case only to settle political scores. Nawab Malik's son and son-in-law were imprisoned in a drugs case. In order to settle those scores, he helped Shah Rukh Khan. He knew that everybody in this country loved Shah Rukh Khan. So, he used his son for his gains. If he really wanted to do something, he should have done it in Anushakti Nagar. Why are places like Lal Maidan still hubs of drug peddling? Every person raising slogans must be checked for any actual work done by the media too.

Maharashtra has topped in hate speeches and communal riots in the past five years. There are leaders of the ruling alliance facing cases of hate speeches but no action has been taken. Bodies like Sakal Hindu Samaj have been getting a free pass. How do you look at the communalism propagated over the years?

You should introduce one variable here which is that this isn't the story of the past five years. It's the story of the past two-and-a-half years. Till Uddhav Thackeray was the CM, nobody dared to utter a word about any religion. This government was stolen from us. They knew that if they contested the elections, they will lose. The people were waiting to defeat them but they did not even conduted the BMC elections for the past three years because they knew they will lose. They tried everything for the past two-and-a-half years but the people showed them the mirror in the Lok Sabha elections. Whoever is uttering such statements today will have to hide once the MVA forms the government. No matter what party, religion, or caste they claim to be from, the MVA will act strictly against those doing wrong by Maharashtra.

There are certain schemes like the Laadki Nahin Yojana, subsidies on bus travel are popular among the people. Do you see any positives of this government?

They are giving Rs 1,500 for the Laadki Bahin Yojana. We will give Rs 3,000. If the scheme is popular, people will vote for us. One may say that we are giving Rs 3,000 because they are giving Rs 1,500. That's not the case. We have such schemes in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana already. We can give Rs 3,000. Why are they not able give that extra Rs 1,500? Whose pockets are they going to?

We have seen more political turmoil in the past three weeks since the tickets started getting announced than what we saw in the past five years. When we speak to voters, we see confusion and mistrust as the two common sentiments. How does the Opposition plan to fill that trust deficit?

The people are the most scared of this mic now. In the past 10 years, this mic has planted hate in the hearts of the people. I am talking about the 'Godi media' here, not The Quint. The people wil never tell the media what's in their hearts now. To answer your question, you will see the results on 23 November. If there was mistrust or confusion, why would people vote for us and make us win in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra? People are just angry about one thing - Maharashtra led the way for how to do politics all these years but in the past five years, it's an example of how not to do politics. You wait for it, the people are ready for a change.

A lot has happened in the past six months when it come to law and order. Shots were fired at the house of a Bollywood actor, a cabinet minister was assassinated in the middle of a busy street in Bandra, and a gangster sitting in a Gujarat jail has taken credit for it all. How does this reflect on the governnance and the policing system of two states according to you?

This only shows how hollow the governance and policing is. Baba Siddique was like a guardian to me, He would give the warmest hugs. He was the kind of person who has made many people forget their issues like Salman Khan or Shah Rukh Khan. I still cannot believe that he is gone. I still feel that I will run into him somewhere in Bandra or Colaba or the Mantralaya some day. They say don't ask questions to the government, don't politicise. The police is under the government, who should we ask questions to? We will ask questions because you are the government. Once we form the government, we will reveal all the truths about the perpetrators of the crime.

You are married to a Bolywood star. Do you think it sometimes gets you unnecessary attention or scrutiny that you might not be seeking?

That's true. But when I look at Swara (Bhasker), my wife, she is called a communist, a comrade, even if she uploads a picture of red chutney. They call her a Muslim if the chutney is green. If it's yellow, they say she is trying to appease Hindus. But when I see the way she tackles it, I am okay. But it does upset us because we have a daughter now. And when she is dragged into all this, it really hurts. But we tackle it. We want to fulfill the responsibilities that we shoulder and we realise that it comes with accountability. That's how we negotiate with it and move on. Whenever we sit alone and think about it, we don't regret it. Sometimes I say that because of whatever I do, her career has been compromised. She tells me that I quit high paying jobs to do this. And then we say that if we get the chance, we would do it all over again. If we were doing what we used to, we would not have been happy. Today, we are.