Rebel All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MLA Humayun Kabir visited West Bengal Assembly to attend a Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday, but stuck to his stand of not resigning as MLA. His suspension from the ruling party, post the foundation stone laying ceremony of Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district on December 6, not with standing, Kabir has decided to intensify his fight politically.
“The people who made me MLA have requested me not to step down now, when elections are around the corner. They are unable to get access to their MP, Yusuf Pathan, who stays in Gujarat and hardly visits West Bengal. Hence, I decided to go by their request," said Humayun Kabir.
Kabir is tight-lipped about the announcement of his new party on December 22 in Beldanga in Murshidabad district, though he is confident of 4 lakh supporters, turning up. However, he has informed local police that 50,000 people will be present.
“I will launch a new party on my own in Beldanga in Murshidabad on December 22. AIMIM has not been invited to the event. I will declare a 75-member state committee that day, including the Murshidabad district president. Then I will decide which party to include in the alliance," added Kabir.
Kabir says his party will contest in 135 seats and is looking to target minority voters in districts of Murshidabad, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur, Coochbehar, Purba Bardhaman, Pashchim Bardhman, Birbhum, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia and Midnapore.
While Assaudin Owaisi's party, AIMIM, has declined an alliance with Kabir's party, the rebel MLA said his doors are open for any party meeting his vision of ousting AITC from power in the state and keeping the BJP away from taking over.
“I am at an advantage. They are at zero, I am alone. I am an MLA starting a party, and the people I am asking to join hands with me, those parties have zero seats in West Bengal - Congress and CPI(M). Naushad (Siddiqui) is alone just like me. If Naushad wants to join hands, he is welcome, if CPI(M) wants to join hands, they are welcome. If Congress wants to join hands, they are welcome. Else, they will remain zero," said a confident Kabir, who is hoping Naushad, who is the only MLA of Islamic Secular Front(ISF), will join hands with the former AITC MLA’s new party.
Meanwhile, though Naushad Siddiqui is not in favour of politics over the building of the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district by Kabir, he is not averse to the idea of joining hands. “You can make a religious institution. However, good or bad is not about mosques or temples. How much employment was generated? We should talk about that. There are mostly migrant labourers in Murshidabad, one should talk about industries here," explained the ISF MLA.
“Now Humayun Kabir says he wants to launch his own party. We will see what happens after December 22. What does he want, what are his aims and objectives. If it is a secular, we will speak to their alliance partners and see too," said Siddiqui.
Also read
- SIR: TMC and BJP clash as massive voter list revision cuts 58 lakh names in West Bengal
- This community in West Bengal has the highest number of unmapped voters after SIR
- West Bengal: EC to release SIR draft roll; list of deleted names already out
- Who is Subhashree Ganguly, and why was she taking pictures with Messi in Kolkata?
“When he was in AITC, he said in 2024 elections, he said 30 per cent vs 70 pc, but we don’t agree to this. He has to take his words back," added Siddiqui, who is at an intermediate stage of talks with Congress and Left Front for seat sharing in the upcoming assembly elections in 2026. “We are in the second phase of talks on seat sharing.”
The fight by smaller parties for the nearly 30 pc minority vote bank in West Bengal is one to watch out for. These parties are hoping to cash in on anti-incumbency votes, but how much of their vision is realistic, with AITC having a larger share of the minority community in the state, is the big question.