From Instagram Reels to Civic Upset: How Sahar Shaikh Stunned Mumbra
The 29-year-old Gen Z influencer turned AIMIM candidate's victory reflects the rising assertion of young Muslim voters and the changing contours of minority-dominated Mumbra's politics.
The Viral Controversy and Political Backlash
A reel of a burqa-clad young woman asking "Kaisa haraya", with a glint in her eye and a taunting smirk, has gone viral on social media. Another clip from the same victory speech, in which she refers to "turning the city green", has drawn police notices, political backlash, and accusations of communalising Mumbra’s polity, catapulting her into national attention.
The woman at the centre of the controversy is 29-year-old Sahar Shaikh, one of the youngest corporators elected from Mumbra in the Thane Municipal Corporation elections. Contesting on an All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen ticket, Shaikh won from Ward No. 30, defeating candidates backed by rival Nationalist Congress Party factions.
This area is considered a stronghold of four-time local MLA Jitendra Awhad in the Kalwa-Mumbra belt, an area with a dominant Muslim population. Responding to the allegations, Shaikh rejected the charge of communal intent.
"I said green as the AIMIM flag was green and had nothing to do with any religious comment. I am a secular person and people should stop communal politics," Sahar Shaikh told The Indian Express, a day after BJP leaders Kirit Somaiya and Niranjan Davkhare filed a police complaint accusing her of indulging in communal politics and attempting to divide people on religious lines.
Symbol of a Broader Political Shift
While Shaikh has drawn criticism from both the BJP and parties that describe themselves as secular for her and her father’s sharp verbal attacks on Jitendra Awhad, her rise also reflects a broader political shift. A recent entrant into the AIMIM, Shaikh symbolises the growing political assertion of young Muslims who are increasingly looking for alternatives to established parties and gravitating towards the AIMIM.
This trend was evident in the recent civic polls, where the party won 125 corporator seats across Maharashtra. Shaikh’s entry into the AIMIM came after she was denied a ticket by the NCP Sharad Pawar faction, which Awhad effectively controls in Thane.
A Bachelor of Management Studies graduate from Mumbai University in 2017, Shaikh comes from a politically active family. Her father, Yunus Shaikh, has been a long-time associate of Awhad, who holds a distinctive place in Maharashtra politics, having been elected three times from a constituency where Muslims account for nearly 44 percent of the electorate.
Social Media Savvy and Grassroots Work
According to the family, it was Awhad who encouraged Sahar to become active in politics. What followed was a sustained outreach effort that combined social work on the ground with self-promotion through social media. Shaikh used her Instagram account to post short clips, many of which went viral, helping her build a following of 4.32 lakh followers.
In most videos, she is seen wearing a lapel microphone attached to her scarf, appealing to residents to keep their surroundings clean and urging them to "not throw old furniture and mattress into drains". Other clips show her:
- Cutting ribbons at newly opened shops
- Speaking about securing school admissions for children under the Right to Education Act
- Participating in sanitisation drives
- Walking along overflowing nullahs to draw attention to civic problems and demand action from authorities
Family Resentment and Political Break
However, close to the elections, Shaikh was denied a ticket by Awhad, triggering strong resentment within the family. "My daughter was preparing for IAS and it was Awhad who insisted that she become active in politics. After all her hard work, he had the gall to deny her a ticket and is promoting people at the expense of old supporters like me," said her father Yunus, a local businessman and social activist.
It was following this break that Yunus Shaikh approached the AIMIM just days before the polls. The party, which was looking to expand its footprint in the region, offered Sahar a ticket. Banking on her established popularity on social media and the groundwork done by her father, she secured 12,964 votes.
She defeated Rumana Shaikh of the NCP Sharad Pawar faction, who polled 7,665 votes, and Siddiqui Farha of the NCP Ajit Pawar faction, who received 6,057 votes. The police notice appears to have made Shaikh more cautious in the immediate aftermath of her victory.
Maintaining a Low Profile
Maintaining a low profile, she is keen to emphasise that she is not a provocateur. Describing herself as a basketball player and a make-up artist, Shaikh said, "Earlier I had an Instagram page dedicated to make-up and lifestyle tips for women which was popular. However, my father has been in politics for nearly three decades and seeing the work he did up close, I always wanted to take that path."
Her victory represents not just a personal achievement but a significant moment in Mumbra's political evolution, highlighting how digital influence and grassroots activism are reshaping traditional power structures in minority-dominated constituencies.
