# Kamaal Farooqui

Kamaal Farooqui (born 1 July 1962) is a politician, businessman and educationist. He is a senior leader of the Maharashtra state and Indian National Congress, he has been the former President of Consumer Welfare Advisory Committee and was given the Cabinet Minister rank in the Government of Maharashtra.

## Personal life

Kamaal Farooqui was born in Ajanta, Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, India to a feudal family of Qadis, Al Farooqui clan under the Hyderabad State who trace their lineage to the second caliph Umar R.A.
His paternal grandfather Qazi Badiuddin Farooqui was the last Inamdar, Khatib and Qadi of Ajanta under the Princely State of Hyderabad. His maternal grandfather was of Yemeni Hadhrami descent and from the Bin Siddiq tribe of Wadi Bin Ali, Yemen, and his maternal grandmother from the Pashtun Rohilla clan.
In 1991, Farooqui married Nasreen Begum (née Khan) daughter of a businessman in Aurangabad, and they together have 2 sons and 1 daughter, Mohammad Umar (b. 1992), Maryam (b. 1996) and Mohammad Ali (b. 2002)

## Political career

Kamaal Farooqui began his political career in 1978 under Indian National Congress Party’s student wing, National Students Union of India and then later Indian Youth Congress and was made Joint Secretary of Maharashtra with Ashok Chavan, who later became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Farooqui was the protégé of A.R Antulay and was a confidant of C K Jaffer Sharif, Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar.
Kamaal Farooqui served as the Chairman of MPCC’s Minority Department and was a senior voice of the Muslims in the Maharastra state which populates nearly 13 million muslims.
Kamaal Farooqui was a close friend of Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who he worked together with in Indian Youth Congress
Farooqui left Congress Party in 2004 due to his indifferences with the local leadership and contested elections from the Bahujan Samaj Party in 2004.
After the elections Kamaal Farooqui joined Nationalist Congress Party of Sharad Pawar and was given a Ministerial rank in the Government of Maharashtra and served as the General Secretary of the party in Maharashtra and Member of National Council.
Kamaal Farooqui was once considered to be close with Pawar family, but after the Ajit Pawar nephew’s coup against Sharad Pawar, Farooqui remained with the senior Pawar as part of the NCP (SP) faction and has reported to be said "I could not leave Pawar Sahab in his difficult time as he had appointed me the Minister Rank in Maharashtra"
Farooqui along with his son Umar later returned to Indian National Congress in 2024 ahead of the Vidhan Sabha polls.
He is considered to be a fiercely powerful orator and valour and connection to the grassroots with good administrative skills.
He’s regarded as a patriotic Muslim who loves his country and has said his political ideology remains same as the of Gandhi, Azad and Nehruvian for the good and unity of the Republic of India

## Philanthropy

Kamaal Farooqui runs a Non-Profit Urdu Education Society in the rural part of Marathwada region which involves nearly 4,000 students.
Kamaal Farooqui also has served as the Honorary President of sporting associations and is known to be a patron of many educational initiatives.