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Saleem Ahmed is an Indian politician who is known for being a member of the Indian National Congress Party in Karnataka. He is a Member of the Karnataka Legislative Council of Hubli–Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag District constituency since 6 January 2022.
Wiki/Biography
Saleem Azeez Ahmed was born on Sunday, 1 January 1967 (age 56 years; as of 2023) in Bangalore, Karnataka. His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He did his schooling at Basaveshwara Boys High School in Rajajinagar, Bangalore. He pursued a bachelor’s degree in arts at Seshadripuram College, Bengaluru, Karnataka. He also pursued a Master’s degree in political science at Karnataka State Open University (KSOU), Mysore.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 5″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Saleem’s father’s name is Azeez Ahmed.
Wife & Children
He is married to Asma Ahmed.
Saleem Ahmed with his wife
Together, they have a son and a daughter.
Address
He resides at “Ashiana”, No. 1375, 12th Cross, 2nd Stage, West of Cord Road, Bangalore – 560086.
Political Career
Saleem started his political career as a congress party worker and was in charge of organizing rallies, training camps and youth conventions. In 1982, he was elected as the Student Union Leader of Sheshadripuram College, Bangalore. In 1984, he became the vice president of Bangalore City NSUI.
Saleem Ahmed as the NSUI president
In 1987, he became the President of Karnataka NSUI and in 1997, he became the general secretary of the All India Youth Congress. In 1997, he was elected as a Member of the Karnataka Legislative Council and served on various committees formed by KLC. In 2002, he was again elected as a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council. In the year 2000, he became the government chief whip of the Karnataka Legislative Council. In 2012, he became the director general of the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. On 25 January 2017, he was the special representative of the Government of Karnataka to the Union Government. On 21 June 2018, he was the AICC Secretary of the Telangana state. On 11 March 2020, he became the working president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. On 6 January 2022, he became a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council from Hubli–Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag district.
Assets/Properties
Movable Assets
- Bank Deposits: Rs. 4,81,217
- Motor Vehicles: Rs. 1,90,000
Immovable Assets
- Residential Buildings: Rs. 4,50,00,000
Note: The given estimates of movable and immovable assets are according to the year 2014. It excludes the assets owned by his wife and dependents (minor).
Net Worth
Rs. 5 Crore.
Note: The given estimates of movable and immovable assets are according to the year 2014. It excludes the assets owned by his wife and dependents (minor).
Facts/Trivia
- His hobbies include reading books, playing sports and singing songs.
- In 1984, he participated as an Indian delegate to the International Youth Conference held in Moscow and Korea in 1989.
- In 2001, he was an Indian delegate to the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) in a political study mission held in the USA.
- In 2002, he participated as an Indian delegate at the World Kannada Conference held in Detroit in USA.
- In 2005, he was the Deputy Leader in a Study Tour of a Team of Legislators to The People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Singapore to study the system and functioning of the People’s Congress and their Government.
Saleem Ahmed as an Indian delegate at a Youth delegation programme
- In 2012, he served in the Indian delegation to South Korea for the Youth Exchange Program.
- As a leader of NSUI and Youth leader, he worked on issues related to youngsters and students. He used to travel to various cities to put to light the issues faced by the youngsters so that they could help in the nation-building process. He used to promote the vision of the Congress party and its role in the Freedom movement. He also promoted the step taken by Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who changed the voting right of the youth from 21 years to 18 years. He also used to talk about the achievements of the UPA Government under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi. He also promoted the vision of Rahul Gandhi in nation-building. During his tenure as a youth leader, he used to work on social reforms such as the Anti Dowry program, tree plantations, health and blood donation camps and other social activities.
Saleem Ahmed promoting Congress ideology as a Youth leader
- When he was the director general of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sanhathan in 2012, he built a national network for development at rural and sub-urban levels. In an interview, he said that if there were rural youth clubs that were involved in nation-building activities, India would develop. He came up with many innovative strategies as a youth leader to develop skills among the Indian youth to become productive, responsible citizens of a modern, secular and technological India leading to an increase in employment. He started to organize youth programs to unite the voice of Youth clubs and Mahila Mandals. These programs were turned into community-based organizations with huge networks. He also made plans to increase competency development, awareness, knowledge, dissemination and job orientation for the youth.
Saleem Ahmed as the director general of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan
- He was the first Muslim president of the All India Youth Congress after Muhammad Ali in 1963 to hold the position of president. In an interview, he talked about this and said,
That was over 50 years ago! Muslims and minorities have always stood by the Congress. Even the party gives them prominence always. This is the first time a Muslim has been made working president. Also, I was the first Muslim from Karnataka to be appointed the all-India NSUI president.”
- In 2020, he questioned the state government about the record of expenditure towards the purchase of PPE kits, sanitisers and masks during the Covid-19 crisis. According to him, the Karnataka government had not released the Rs. 2500 package to solve the crisis.
- In an interview, BJP leaders talked about Saleem and said that eating halal meat was not good and that having leaders who do so in the party was a shame. In an interview, he talked about the attack by BJP and said,
It is not going to have any impact. Food habits have been established over a long period of time. In the case of halal, it is only a process in Islam to purify meat. It is good for health, that is why they say it is halal. These things are no issues at all. It is in fact causing problems for people in rural areas who have poultry and livestock businesses… It will not affect the Congress party.”
- In 2020, he was part of the three working presidents committee of the Congress party in Karnataka. In an interview, he talked about this and said that it was not the first time he had seen a three-president committee. In the interview, he further added that when he was in charge in Telangana, there were four working presidents and five in Maharashtra. He said that it was a good thing to strengthen the organisation and empower the president.
- In 2022, he asked the Congress party for more tickets to candidates belonging to the community, in the Assembly polls in 2023. In an interview, he talked about this and said,
We will scrutinise and give a list to the party. Winnability will be the criteria. Wherever there is a chance to win, we will push for tickets to be given to minorities. Voters are being shifted to different houses and booths, such irregularities have been found in Bidar, Vijayapura and Hubballi, other than Bengaluru.”