With the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM tying up with former Trinamool Congress leader Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) for the West Bengal Assembly polls, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) could end up facing a more strenuous challenge than it may have anticipated in minority-dominated constituencies. Owaisi, the Hyderabad MP, is scheduled to visit the state on March 25, when the party is likely to announce the seats it will contest formally.
The AIMIM made its first foray in West Bengal in the 2021 Assembly elections, fielding candidates in minority-dominated constituencies across Malda, Murshidabad and Uttar Dinajpur districts, including Itahar, Jalangi, Sagardighi, Bharatpur, Malatipur, and Asansol Uttar. Sources said the party was likely to contest around eight seats across Murshidabad, Malda, and Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur.
At a gathering at his party headquarters, Darussalam, in Hyderabad on Sunday night, Owaisi announced his party’s decision and took aim at the TMC. He accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of “injustice against Bengali Muslims”, alleging that at least five lakh OBC certificates had been cancelled.
“There are several other instances of injustice, despite these people being courted in the name of secularism. When the Majlis (AIMIM) speaks about participation and participatory democracy, so-called secular parties feel threatened,” he said.
AIMIM’s West Bengal president Imran Solanki told The Indian Express, “Everything will be finalised on March 25 when our national president visits Bengal. He (Humayun Kabir) is willing to offer us a large number of seats, but we have asked for a smaller number where we have a strong organisational base and a realistic chance of winning. Our primary aim is to counter the BJP in Bengal while expanding our presence.”
“Unlike last time, our national president will visit Bengal several times and may stay for nearly a week to campaign. We have sought eight days from him. He will address at least three rallies daily. Other national leaders will also campaign,” he said.
Solanki alleged a lack of development in Muslim-majority districts such as Malda and Murshidabad, claiming that unemployment has forced many young people to migrate. He also blamed the state government for inadequate higher education and healthcare infrastructure. Muslims in Bengal were also unhappy about the government removing several minority groups from the OBC list and the state government implementing the Waqf law despite the CM initially saying she would resist it.
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The development comes as the Indian Secular Front (ISF), led by Bhangar MLA Naushad Siddiqui, works on finalising a seat-sharing arrangement with the CPI(M). In the 2023 panchayat elections, the party put up a notable performance in several Muslim-majority pockets, winning 336 seats. The ISF has announced candidates in 23 seats across Malda, Nadia, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, Birbhum, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur.
“In 2021, we contested a handful of seats but were not adequately prepared. This time, things will be different. Humayun Kabir held talks with the ISF, but they chose to align with the CPI(M). We cannot go with the CPI(M),” Solanki said.
The Kabir factor
Last week, Humayun Kabir announced that AJUP would contest 182 seats in the Assembly polls. The party has fielded a candidate in the high-profile Bhabanipur constituency in Kolkata, where Mamata Banerjee will face Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.
Kabir himself will contest from two constituencies in Murshidabad: Rejinagar and Naoda. The party said its remaining candidates would be announced in Kolkata on March 25, while its election manifesto would be released on March 28. Key focus areas include healthcare, inflation, law and order, and communal harmony.
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The alliance could pose a challenge for the TMC amid discontent among sections of the minority community following a 2024 order by the Calcutta High Court cancelling around 1.2 million OBC certificates issued since 2010. The court also stayed reservations for 140 sub-categories under the OBC-A and OBC-B lists created by the state government, with the BJP alleging that many of the newly added groups belonged to the Muslim community.
Kabir, who was suspended as a TMC MLA after announcing plans to lay the foundation stone of a Babri Masjid replica, is seeking to capitalise on his influence in Rejinagar and Bharatpur. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he had helped consolidate minority votes in the Behrampore Lok Sabha seat for TMC’s Yusuf Pathan, who defeated Congress’s five-term MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
Owaisi, meanwhile, has been buoyed by AIMIM’s performance in neighbouring Bihar, where the party won five seats in the Seemanchal region in the Assembly elections last year.
