Murshidabad (West Bengal) [India], April 1 : Aam Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of neglecting her Muslim voters and appeasing Hindus by building temples.
"Mamata Banerjee takes Muslim votes and builds temples after becoming Chief Minister three times. She builds Jagannath Dham, and in Rajarhat, she is also building a Durga temple by taking Muslim land. When she does things for Hindus, won't I work for Muslims?" he told ANI.
Humayun Kabir was expelled from TMC following a controversial proposal to build the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad. He then formed the Aam Janata Unnayan Party to contest elections in West Bengal.
Kabir has recently entered into an alliance with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi as they began their election campaign against TMC and BJP.
"We won't let Mamata Banerjee come back to power. She is distributing Rs 1,500 under the 'Lakshmir Bhandar' scheme; I promise to give women Rs 3,500," he said.
Last week, AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi spoke about his party's strategic goals for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, emphasising that the primary aim of the alliance with Humayun Kabir's Janata Unnayan Party (JUP) is to foster and strengthen independent political leadership for the Muslim minority in the state
While addressing a press conference here, Owaisi laid out the alliance's broader vision, saying, "Our attempt is that a leadership from the Muslim minority emerges and strengthens in this election in West Bengal. We have decided the number of seats we will contest. This alliance is not limited to just this election, but it will be taken forward to achieve our political objective."
Owaisi further elaborated on the importance of independent political representation, pointing to the state government's data that indicates poor social, economic, and human development in regions where Muslim communities lack leadership.
He stated, "I believe, and government data from West Bengal, the Government of India, and NSSO confirms, that regions where the Muslim minority lacks independent political leadership have very poor social, economic, and human development indicators. There is an organic connection between development and independent leadership."
Humayun Kabir has said that his party will contest 182 seats in the upcoming 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, out of which they will hand over about eight seats to AIMIM.
The West Bengal Assembly elections will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with the counting of votes scheduled for May 4.