Only eight Congress legislators had the privilege of taking oath as ministers on Saturday along with Chief Siddaramaiah and his Deputy D K Shivakumar, in a widely attended swearing-in ceremony at the Kanteerava Stadium. One of them was Chamarajpet MLA B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan.
A relative newbie to Congress, Zameer pipped eight other Muslim lawmakers such as U T Khader, Tanveer Sait, Saleem Ahmed, Rizwan Arshad among others.
Zameer’s ascent as the face of the Muslim leadership in the party has been quick.
Zameer joined Congress in 2018 from the JD(S) where he was expelled in 2016 for allegedly cross-voting during a Rajya Sabha election. Despite souring his ties with H D Kumaraswamy, Zameer became a minister in the JD(S)-Congress coalition government.
Zameer is a businessman by profession with stakes in National Travels. He entered politics by contesting the 2005 Chamarajpet bypoll as a JD(S) candidate and won against Congress’ R V Devaraj.
He has been in the limelight frequently and sometimes controversially.
In 2022, he was warned by the Congress high command after he began promoting Siddaramaiah as the CM face of Congress, while taking an indirect dig at Shivakumar.
“A person who heavily banks on the support of one community (the Vokkaligas in this instance) cannot become the CM,” Khan had said.
He has also been in the news for alleged corruption. In 2021, the ED raided him in connection with the IMA scam.
None of these seems to have been a setback for his growth in the party.
Some attribute it to his hard work. “Unlike Khader, who has established himself as the face of Muslim leadership in the coastal region, Zameer has been able to get a pan-Karnataka appeal. While Tanveer Sait is more of a mass leader, he has restricted his work to his constituency. Zameer, on the other hand, travels extensively across the state. He has toured 110 constituencies ahead of the 2023 polls, seeking votes for the party,” one Congress leader said.
Zameer is also known to be amicable and generous in financially helping those in need.
However, his success has not come without resentment among a section of the Congress leaders, who believe his only claim to fame is that he is a Siddaramaiah loyalist.
“Siddaramaiah put pressure on Zameer’s behalf on the high command. The CM has a soft corner for him as both of them were in JD(S). How else can one grow to this stature in such a short span?” one Congress functionary sought to know.
Albeit his controversies, the party has banked on Zameer on several occasions.
In the just-concluded election, he is credited with ensuring the Congress’ win in Pulakeshinagar against BSP’s Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy.
The BJP had fielded former IPS officer Bhaskar Rao against Zameer in Chamarajpet. Zameer managed to win with a huge margin of 53,953 votes.