Badsha Quadir, a Conservative councillor for Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, has died while on a visit to India. He was 64.
‘Gentle man’: Badsha Quadir
Colleagues suggest that Quadir had been unwell for some time.
“Badsha was a kind, gentle man and a valued colleague,” Robert Ward, another Tory councillor in Selsdon, tweeted last night. “He will be sorely missed.”
A Labour councillor, Karen Jewitt, tweeted, “Very sad to hear of the passing of Councillor Badsha Quadir.
“He was a nice man. He sat on the licensing committee with me, a good positive member. He was also very generous, donating hot food to my elders’ charity during lockdown.
“My thoughts are with his family.”
First elected to the council in 2010, for Purley ward, Quadir was a very generous donor to the local Tories and the Bangladeshi Welfare Association. His family owned a couple of local curry restaurants, and Quadir’s establishments were often used for Croydon Conservative fund-raisers.
He was Croydon’s deputy mayor in 2013, though he never got to have his year in the leading civic role after the Conservatives lost control of the council in 2014.
The local Tories issued a statement last night: “It is with deep sadness that the Croydon Conservative Party shares the news that our beloved Councillor Badsha Quadir passed away in the early hours of this morning.
“Badsha was a devoted friend, colleague and community leader – constantly working to support the people of Purley and Selsdon, whom he represented on Croydon Council for many years.
“Badsha was a successful local businessman who lived with his wife and three children in Purley for over 34 years.
“Badsha was first elected to serve Purley ward in 2010. He was re-elected by the community in 2014 and 2018 before being voted to represent Selsdon Vale and Forestdale in May this year.
“A qualified cricket coach and Chairman of Abahani Cricket Club, he was also a governor of Thomas More Catholic School and founding member of the Bangladeshi Welfare Association Croydon.
“Badsha was a committed Muslim, devoting himself to supporting Selsdon Mosque.”
Jason Perry, the Mayor of Croydon, tweeted, “Badsha was a dear colleague and close friend. His death is a sad loss to our party, his community and the borough.
“A good, caring, generous man – Badsha will be missed by many charities and community groups that he supported.
“My thoughts are with his wife Jebun and his family.”
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network- By having a comment section, we provide all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Details of how this works can be read by clicking here
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
- Inside Croydon: 3.3million page views in 2021. Seen by 1.6million unique visitors in that 12-month period
I’ve always believed one of the highest services you can undertake is to that of your community and Badsha was the epitomie of that. People like Badsha bind our communities together and we are all the stronger for it.