About two months after rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Humayun Kabir broke away from the ruling party in West Bengal to float his own outfit, Janata Unnayan Party (JUP), another prominent Muslim leader Syed Ruhul Amin has now launched the Jatiya Unnayan Party (JUP).
“We aim to represent not only just Muslims but all those belonging to backward classes, irrespective of religion. We feel these sections are neither adequately represented nor their demands are addressed by existing political parties in the state. That is why there is a need for a new party,” Amin told The Indian Express over the phone from Purba Medinipur.
While Amin’s JUP shares its acronym with Kabir’s JUP, the two parties seem to share little else in common. While Kabir’s outfit is largely based in Murshidabad district, Amin’s party, floated on February 9, is looking to set up its base in Purba Medinipur as he is the Peerzada or cleric of the Pratappur Darbar Sharif in the district. Both the JUPs have been floated in the run-up to the state Assembly elections slated for March-April.
Amin’s party adds to the list of parties in Bengal which seek to claim support from the Muslim community, which constitutes around 27% of the state’s population and has been seen as the key support base of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.
Significantly, the lone non-BJP Opposition MLA in the Assembly, Naushad Siddiqui, also belongs to a party, Indian Secular Front (ISF), that draws support largely from the Muslim community as it was founded by his brother Peerzada Abbas Siddiqui, a cleric of Furfura Sharif in Hooghly district.
Who is Amin?
Before foraying into politics, Amin, 43, headed the All India Minority Association, an NGO engaged in social work since 2014. He is also a Peerzada of Pratappur Darbar Sharif in Purba Medinipur district.
“Though the NGO and the party are separate entities, we have an organisational base in districts like Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur and Howrah. We plan to field candidates here. We have formed organisational committees, adopted a party flag and approached the Election Commission (EC) for a symbol,” Amin said.
Claiming that the successive state governments of the Left and the TMC have not done what was required for the poor and working classes, Amin stressed that his party’s work was not restricted to the minorities. “In Haldia, thousands of workers are underpaid and lack social security benefits. In Howrah, zari workers are struggling, yet no one speaks about them. These are the issues we want to highlight,” he said.
Amin said his party would be open to alliances for the upcoming polls and that Kabir had approached him. “We are considering the proposal,” he said, adding the two parties share similar names but he had registered his outfit’s name with the EC “long before it came into existence”.
Sources within Amin’s party claim that it has around five lakh members, most of whom were associated with his NGO across different districts. Several workers said that before floating the party, he had fielded 70 candidates in the 2023 panchayat elections of which 26, including two panchayat pradhans, won the polls
“Our base may be in Purba Medinipur but the party’s network is spread across several districts of the state owing to the years of social work like flood relief and year-round welfare activities that Amin’s NGO has carried out. We already have trained cadres,” Sheikh Abdul Rafiq, a JUP youth leader said.
Amin’s strategy
Amin plans to field candidates in the Assembly polls in at least three districts – Howrah, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur – and is ready for a tie-up. He claimed to be in touch with Kabir’s JUP along with some other parties.
It is to be seen whether Amin’s party is able to draw in Muslim votes, especially in Howrah. The party has also claimed secular credentials, proposing to field non-Muslim candidates too.
Kabir’s game plan
Meanwhile, even as the BJP and the TMC have accused Kabir, the Bharatpur MLA, of communalising politics, he has maintained that his party will also field Hindu candidates in the polls and will follow a secular agenda.
Kabir shot into the limelight after laying the foundation stone of a Babri Masjid replica in Murshidabad on December 6. He announced his new party later that month.
Kabir has been in talks with the CPI(M) and the ISF. However, on Monday, he ruled out an alliance with the two parties, citing delays in the process.