New Delhi: On 31 March, 1997, outside Bihar Bhawan in Delhi, a massive protest erupted against the state’s then Lalu Prasad government following the assassination of former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) president Chandrashekhar Prasad in Siwan district.
Among the voices leading the charge was a young student leader, Syed Naseer Hussain.
That same year, Hussain joined the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and later held key positions in the JNU Students’ Union, serving as joint secretary, vice-president, and ultimately, president from 1999 to 2000. After his tenure as president ended, Hussain, who hails from Karnataka’s Ballari district, joined the Indian Youth Congress.
Hussain is now a Rajya Sabha MP from the Congress and was last month appointed its general secretary in charge of Jammu & Kashmir.
He enjoys the patronage of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and has also earned the goodwill of senior leader Rahul Gandhi, who sees him as an “intellectual Muslim face” from southern India, party leaders told ThePrint.
A senior functionary of the Congress referred to Hussain as an “emerging power centre”.
“He is a part of all key meetings and is aware of all big decisions, including alliance matters and the party’s stand on various issues. Those who are unable to meet Kharge ji often push on their message through Naseer,” he said. According to functionaries in the Congress, Hussain’s role is important not only in Kharge’s office but also in Parliament.
“In Parliament, he coordinates with other opposition leaders regarding the stand of the INDIA bloc and also over protest-related matters. He conveys opposition leaders’ messages to the high command. Many of those leaders see him as ‘Ahmed Patel’ for Kharge,” a second senior functionary said, referring to the late Ahmed Patel, who was known as former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s closest political adviser and key troubleshooter.
A senior Congress MP, however, had a more nuanced assessment. “One cannot compare Ahmed bhai‘s role with anyone … Reaching the Gandhis is not easy for the other leaders so Kharge is the last option for their queries. So for them, Naseer Hussain is like Ahmed bhai, though he does not have that much say in ticket distribution and seat-sharing.”
“His role is, however, important, one cannot deny that. As of now, the Congress is not in power but whenever it will be, then he will have a key role,” the MP told ThePrint.
Also Read: From 2004 to 2024, bad news has come wrapped as good news for Congress
Product of Left-wing politics but ‘not a leftist’
Born in 1970, Hussain entered student politics in the early 1990s at St Philomena’s College of Mysore where he participated in various student movements. There, he was elected as the president of the students’ union and later became a general secretary of the Mysore City Students Action Committee when he was pursuing post-graduate studies, according to his website. He contested these polls independently.
The turning point in his career came when he joined JNU in 1996 for MPhil and PhD studies. His fascination with Left-wing student politics grew while taking part in many protests.
Former JNUSU president Vijoo Krishnan, who is now a general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, told ThePrint: “When I was the students’ union president, Naseer was a vice-president. When I was a secretary at SFI, he was the JNUSU president from the party. We together led many protests, whether related to gender sensitisation or hostel issues.”
“He was very cordial to everyone. His rapport with students helped him gain support. His command of multiple languages also adds a feather in his cap,” Krishnan added.
Between 1998 and 1999, Hussain led several protests on the issue of gender sensitivity which helped pressure the JNU management to set up a committee, according to his batchmates. On 16 April, 1999 the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) was set up. Though Hussain won the JNUSU election as an SFI candidate, he does not call himself a Leftist or from a Left background.
Speaking to ThePrint, Hussain said: “In the late 1990s, BJP came to power, so in JNU things were becoming challenging and all liberal and secular forces were coming together. So, to put ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, RSS-affiliated student outfit) out of power, I chose SFI to contest from. Before that in Mysore, I always contested independently.”
Youth Congress days & Fernandes’ mentorship
After completing his tenure as JNUSU president in 2000, Hussain joined the Youth Congress and served as its national secretary from 2001 to 2003. During this stint, he came in touch with Congress leader and former Union minister Oscar Fernandes who later became his mentor in the party. Both had a Karnataka connection.
Hussain himself admits that Fernandes helped him in his initial days. “Oscar was associated with labour associations and my father was also a labour union leader. So, we had long discussions on labourers’ issues with Oscar,” he told ThePrint
During the UPA’s two terms in power at the Centre, from 2004 to 2014, Hussain served as vice-chairman of the advisory committees of two boards, one on child labour and the other on tobacco workers’ fund. He was also a member of the Cine Workers’ Welfare Board.
He was also appointed chairman of two sub-committees within the Ministry of Labour.
During that time, Oscar was the minister for labour and employment (independent charge from 2006 to 2009), and cabinet rank from 2013 to 2014. Kharge followed him as Union minister of labour and employment between 2009 and 2013.
Once the Congress lost power at the Centre in 2014, Hussain made himself active in organisational roles. He was appointed national media panellist in 2014 and when Randeep Surjewala became Congress’ communication in-charge, he promoted Hussain as a spokesperson. According to one insider in the Congress, Surjewala promoted Hussain in the media department as Hussain was his junior colleague in his Youth Congress days. “Now, at present, Hussain is no less powerful than Surjewala. How times change,” the insider said.
‘Kharge listens to Naseer’
Hussain’s entry to the Rajya Sabha in 2018 was also interesting.
Earlier, he was an aspirant for the Ballari City seat in the 2018 Karnataka Assembly polls, but the party wanted to field its sitting MLA Anil Lad from there.
“That time in 2018, Kharge was the Congress’ leader in the Lok Sabha. He played an important role in recommending Hussain’s name for the Rajya Sabha. Kharge’s closeness with Hussain further grew when he shifted his base from Karnataka politics to national after becoming an MP (in 2020),” a senior Karnataka Congress leader told ThePrint.
Adding, “The Karnataka connection helped Hussain grow close to Kharge. The party was looking to think beyond Ghulam Nabi Azad and Salman Khurshid. So all these factors went in favour of Hussain that time and he entered the Rajya Sabha for the first time.”
In 2022, when Kharge was contesting polls for the post of Congress president, Hussain played a major role in managing his campaign. Throughout the election process, he monitored all activities, such as managing the old guard of the party, organising Kharge’s meetings, etc. Once Kharge became Congress president, he appointed Hussain as one of his four secretaries. Even among these four, Hussain is said to have more power.
A leader from the Samajwadi Party (SP) told ThePrint: “In the last few (Parliament) sessions, we have noticed that Hussain also briefs us about joint protests. We see it as ‘Kharge’s message’ as Kharge is also the LoP in the Rajya Sabha. So, sometimes we also convey our message through him only.”
Another SP leader said: “During the alliance talks, whenever we need to talk to the Congress president or convey any message, we prefer either Gurdeep Sappal or Naseer Hussain to communicate. We also hear that, in political matters, Kharge listens to Naseer more. So we assume he is the power centre in the Congress president’s office.”
Kharge too gives Hussain full regard. The Congress MP mentioned earlier told ThePrint that Kharge at a recent gathering of senior leaders said: “Woh Youth Congress wala Naseer ab general secretary ho gaya hai (that Youth Congress guy Naseer is now general secretary).”
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: What differentiates BJP from Congress—one learns from mistakes, the other won’t
