[3][4][5] Ibrahim was said to have been first spotted in 1967 when he was 12, by the former Chief Minister of Karnataka S. Nijalingappa, where he was found giving election speeches as part of the campaign for his father's friend, who was contesting on an INC ticket.

[8] Karnataka Police have charged cases against him for making Hate speech which instigated riots in Bangalore and Tumkur following a controversy over title of an article that appeared in Deccan Herald on 7th December 1986.

[11] However, at the time, a senior bureaucrat accused the Aviation ministry of being "a malign influence",[11] and there were allegations that Ibrahim was protecting the private carrier Jet Airways.

It was alleged that Ibrahim had overruled other ministers and was protecting the interests of Star's rival Zee Television, who he granted permission to operate a DTH network.

[18][19][20] On 1 September 2010, while campaigning in his home state, Ibrahim alleged that Katta Subramanya Naidu, a politician from the rival Bharatiya Janata Party was bribing voters.