- Humayun Kabir, expelled Trinamool leader, said he can offer Mamata Banerjee an assembly seat
- Kabir, who formed his own party, Aam Janata Unnayan Party, has won two Murshidabad seats
- Mamata Banerjee has lost Bhabanipur seat and must win a by-election to re-enter the state assembly
An expelled leader of the Trinamool Congress has offered Mamata Banerjee a way back to the assembly, in an ironic twist of circumstances. Humayun Kabir, who made headlines with his promise of building a replica of Ayodhya's Babri Masjid in Bengal, had been expelled by the Trinamool Congress. Now Kabir -- who before the election had called for overthrowing the Trinamool and won from two assembly seats -- said he would offer one to Mamata Banerjee if she requests him.
Banerjee, who had contested from Kolkata's Bhabanipur, lost the seat to her former aide and now Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, amid her party's rout in the recently held state elections. Now she is no longer an MLA and will have to win a by-election to gain entry in the state assembly.
Read: A Lok Sabha Problem Awaits Mamata Banerjee? Humanyun Kabir's Big Claim
There is no word yet on who in the party would step aside for her.
Instead, Banerjee and her party have been facing a massive split in the party over the question of who will the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly. Fifty-eight of Trinamool's 60 MLAs are backing Ritabrata Banerjee, an import from the CPM, who has now been expelled.
Humayun Kabir, who has formed his own party - Aam Janata Unnayan Party or AJUP --- since expulsion, has stepped into the breach.
Kabir, who won the Nowda and Rejinagar assembly seats in Murshidabad district, said he was ready to offer the second seat to Mamata Banerjee, which will be up for a by-poll once he relinquishes it.
"If Mamata Banerjee comes to me, I can send her to the Assembly from Rejinagar," Kabir was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.
Read: Analysis | How Mamata Banerjee Created Trinamool After Breaking Away From Congress
"If she contests from Nandigram, she will not win. But if she wants, I will resign and ensure her victory from my constituency," he added.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari - who won from Bhababipur and Nandigram - has vacated the Nandigram seat from which he had defeated Banerjee in 2021.
"The situation in which she finds herself today pains me. Whatever I am today is because of her," Kabir said. Then, underscoring his own influence in Murshidabad, he added, "Nobody may listen to her (Mamata Banerjee) now, but in Rejinagar, Humayun Kabir is the final word".
(With PTI)
