Zameer Ahmed Khan: From steering travels biz to being blue-eyed boy of two bigwig leaders
Before B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan added ‘politician’ to his resume in 2005, he was a third-generation businessman holding stakes in National Travels (NT), a family enterprise since 1927.
In 17 years, the Chamrajpet MLA has risen to become one of Congress’ prominent Muslim faces.
Along the way, he has made headlines in a career known for switches in loyalties, celebrity links and, more recently, his bungalow-like house near the Cantonment railway station.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided Khan 10 months ago in connection with the multi-crore IMA scam. On Tuesday, it was the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s (ACB) turn to pay Khan a visit.
A native of Kunigal (Tumakuru), Khan dropped out of class 10, while studying at Siddhartha High School in 1982-83.
In his 2018 election affidavit, the 4-time MLA and two-time minister had declared family assets worth Rs 40.34 crore and liabilities of Rs 22.78 crore.
Khan still runs the transport business and his only source of income is from his role as managing partner at N T Zameer Ahmed Khan Associates, according to his affidavit.
In a way, it was S M Krishna’s appointment as Maharashtra governor that paved the way for Khan to enter electoral politics in 2005.
Krishna vacated his Chamrajpet Assembly seat, forcing a bypoll.
JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda handpicked Khan, the transporter, for the byelection and he defeated Congress’ R V Devaraj.
In January 2006, the Dharam Singh-led Congress-JD(S) coalition was toppled when H D Kumaraswamy walked out with 42 legislators.
They were famously driven to a resort in a bus that had Khan in the driver’s seat.
Khan was once Kumaraswamy’s acolyte. “He used to manage Kumaraswamy’s expenditure. For this purpose, Kumaraswamy had given two flats to Khan in Bengaluru,” recalls former MLC Ramesh Babu, Khan’s colleague in both JD(S) and Congress. In 2016, Khan rebelled against the JD(S) by cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha election. It is said that he felt sidelined.
For the 2018 polls, Khan joined the Congress and is now a Siddaramaiah loyalist.
Babu also points to Khan’s benevolence. “He helps people in need with money. While I won’t comment on where he gets money from, it’s a rare virtue in politics.”
A self-proclaimed secularist, Khan, 55, speaks fluent Kannada in Dakhni style. His love for Tipu Sultan is something the BJP abhors.
Khan also has Bollywood links going by the star-studded birthday bash he had when he turned 50.
His son Zaid Khan is due to make his film debut under the ‘National Khan’s Production’ banner.