Hooghly (West Bengal) [India], April 10 : Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate from Srirampur, Tanmay Ghosh, on Friday claimed that Asaduddin Owaisi's political interventions in several states have contributed to the division of minority votes, alleging that such moves indirectly benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in polls.
Speaking to ANI, Ghosh said, "...Throughout India, we have seen that in many states, Asaduddin Owaisi put up candidates, and it helped the BJP by dividing minority votes. Similarly, in Bengal, they tried this, and they could not trust each other...Our party exposed the deal between Humayun Kabir and the BJP directly...Minority of Bengal knows who is standing beside them, it is TMC, Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee."
His remarks come after All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), led by Asaduddin Owaisi, has announced its decision to withdraw its alliance with a party headed by Humayun Kabir.
The announcement follows remarks and revelations attributed to Kabir, which AIMIM said raised concerns regarding the "integrity of Muslims."
In a strongly worded statement, the party declared that it "cannot associate with any statements where the integrity of Muslims is brought into question," and confirmed that it has officially ended the alliance with immediate effect.
AIMIM also used the occasion to highlight what it described as the continued socio-economic marginalisation of Muslims in West Bengal. The party stated that the community remains "one of the poorest, neglected and oppressed," despite decades of governance by parties claiming a secular political framework, including the All India Trinamool Congress and previous administrations.
The political temperature in West Bengal has risen as polling for the 294-member Assembly in West Bengal will take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, while counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
In the last assembly election in the state, held in eight phases in 2021, the Trinamool Congress recorded a landslide victory with 213 seats amid an intense contest with the BJP, which jumped to 77 seats. Congress and the Left Front drew a blank in the last state polls.