Imtiyaz Jaleel

Imtiyaz Jaleel Syed (born 10 August 1968), also known as Syed Imtiyaz Jaleel, is an Indian politician and member of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. In 2019 General Elections, Jaleel was elected as Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Aurangabad Lok Sabha Constituency. He was elected as member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from Aurangabad Central constituency in 2014. He is also the state president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen in Maharashtra as well as a member of the Standing Committee of the Urban Development (UD).

Early life
Jaleel was born and raised in Aurangabad to Syed Abdul Jaleel and Zakiya Jaleel. His father was a civil surgeon and his brother is a manager at Jet Airways. Jaleel married Roomi Fatema on 8 July 1993, with whom he has two sons.

Jaleel completed both his Master of Business Administration (1996) and Master of Mass Communication and Journalism (2000) from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University.

Political career
Initially Jaleel worked as a journalist for Lokmat and NDTV. He entered politics in 2014 when he contested assembly seat from Aurangabad Central assembly constituency for All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM). He started his campaign 22 days before the polling and defeated the sitting Shiv Sena legislator Pradeep Jaiswal by a margin of around 20,000 votes.

On 23 April 2015, under the leadership of Imtiaz Jaleel, MIM won 25 seats in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation elections. During DPDC meeting which was held on 29 January 2015, Imtiyaz Jaleel raised the issue of costly MRI charges at the government-run hospital in Aurangabad. Then District Guardian Minister Ramdas Kadam directed GMCH authorities to reduce the charges of MRI scan from Rs 1,800 to Rs 700.

On 14 October 2017, Jaleel had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Aurangabad bench of Bombay high court, seeking direction to the state government to allot seven acres of land to build a 200-bed hospital for women and children in Aurangabad. The court had directed the state and district administration to file a reply within six months.

On 26 March 2019, MIM decided to contest Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra in alliance with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi led by Prakash Ambedkar. MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi had picked Imtiyaz Jaleel as the party candidate.

Jaleel won the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat defeating the four-time sitting MP from the Shiv Sena, Chandrakant Khaire, with a slim margin of 4,492 vote. Commenting on the results, Chitra Lele, professor of political science at SNDT University said, “By not raking up national issues and shunning criticism of Narendra Modi, Jaleel avoided polarisation of votes on religious lines. On the other hand, a split in the votes going to Khaire, and AIMIM’s alliance with VBA ensured that he gets votes from dalits and other deprived communities”.

Since 2021, Jaleel sits on the Maharashtra Waqf Board.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Jaleel lost to Sandipanrao Bhumre of Shiv Sena by 134,650 votes.

Protested outside the Aurangabad Airport
On 31 July 2017, Taslima Nasrin, a feminist known for her writing on criticism of religion, landed on Aurangabad Airport to visit Ajanta and Ellora caves. Led by Imtiaz Jaleel, a group of people protested outside the Aurangabad Airport. After the backlash from protesters, Aurangabad police stopped the controversial author from stepping out of the airport and advised her to go back.

Tiranga Rally Muslim Reservation
On 11 December 2021, Jaleel lead the Tiranga rally organised by the Majlis party from Aurangabad to Mumbai demanding 5% reservation to the Muslim community in Maharashtra. Jaleel said that the AIMIM party won't contest the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra if the MVA Government gives 5% reservation to the Muslim community.

Adarsh Co-operative Bank Scams
Jaleel took a stance against financial scams plaguing cooperative banks and societies. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jaleel called for a thorough investigation by central agencies like the CBI or ED into these irregularities. Adarsh Nagari Sahkari Credit Co-operative, which was under scrutiny for a Rs. 202 crore scam.

Jaleel's rally for justice garnered attention as he sought to protect the interests of underprivileged individuals, elderly citizens, and farmers in the district who had been adversely affected by these financial wrongdoings. He also urged the authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the operations of Adarsh Nagari Credit Society and Malkapur Urban Cooperative Bank.

Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Scam
Adarsh Adarsh Co-operative Bank Scam case: the accused will sell their assets and return their money to the depositors; Testimony of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Best Working Politician Award 2023
Jaleel was honoured with the ‘15th News makers Achievers Awards 2023’ in the ‘Best Working Politician’ category on 1 May 2023 at Yashwant Rao Chavan Auditorium, Mumbai.

Reducing Passport Processing Time from 30-45 days to just 7-10 days
Jaleel played a key role in modernising the Aurangabad Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK), which initially had lengthy processing times. His efforts led to the establishment of a modernised center with scanners, reducing passport processing time from 30-45 days to just 7-10 days. This change significantly improved passport services, benefitting citizens in the region.

PIL for 400 Bed Hospital instead of politician Gopinath Munde Statue
Jaleel played a pivotal role in the establishment of a 400-bed women and neonatal hospital in Aurangabad. In 2017, Jaleel filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that prompted the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court to intervene in the stalled project, originally sanctioned in 2013 but delayed due to lack of available land. Following the court's directives, the district collector allocated 21,853 square meters of prime land at the Government Milk Dairy for the hospital. District civil surgeon SV Kulkarni confirmed the land possession and outlined plans for construction, with the state government funding the project. Jaleel expressed satisfaction with this progress, noting that the high court would monitor the hospital's development.

Personal views
In February 2019, on the occasion of Shivaji Jayanti, Jaleel said Shivaji was a secular leader who stood for communal harmony but history books had been distorted to show him as anti Muslim.

Controversies
on 11 June 2022, While protesting against the controversial statement of Nupur Sharma against Prophet Muhammad, Jaleel said she should be hanged here in Aurangabad.