- Humayun Kabir has said he will launch a new party on December 22
- Kabir has claimed that AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi supports him as Bengal counterpart
- Kabir has said that he aims to contest 135 seats to challenge Trinamool in next year's assembly election
Humayun Kabir -- the suspended MLA of Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress who has declared his intention to form a new party later this month -- flaunted his close relation with prospective ally Asaduddin Owaisi, sharing what appeared an inside joke. The Hyderabad MP, Kabir declared, has promised that he would become the Bengal counterpart of the AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) chief.
"I have spoken to Owaisi... Owaisi has given me his word that he is Hyderabad's Owaisi and I am Bengal's Owaisi," Kabir told reporters today.
"I will go to Kolkata on December 10 and form my party's committee and launch my party on December 2 with lakhs of supporters," added the MLA, who has made no secret of his plans to end the dream run of Trinamool by taking over its Muslim support base.
A large part of Bengal's 27 per cent Muslim vote goes to the Trinamool Congress.
"I will form a new party that will work for Muslims. I will field candidates in 135 seats. I will become a game-changer in the Bengal election... Trinamool's Muslim vote bank will be finished," Kabir had said on Sunday.
Suspended by Trinamool after his proposal to build a replica of the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district, Humayun Kabir said he was in touch with the AIMIM and will contest the election with them.
Neither AIMIM nor Owaisi has commented on this. Asked about his plans for contesting in Bengal, Owaisi had told NDTV that he is yet to decide. "We will have to sit and decide, but right now I think it is too early," he had said.
The AIMIM had contested seven seats in Bengal in 2021 but failed to win any. But with his stellar results in Bihar, the AIMIM chief can hope for a good outcome in Bengal.
In Bihar, AIMIM had retained all five seats it won in 2020, and finishing second in one. It has also influenced results in nine constituencies, securing more votes than the victory margin. Of these, 67% seats were won by the NDA and 33% by the Grand Alliance.
There is concern in the ruling party that a similar situation may develop in Bengal. The proposed alliance -- either by splitting the Muslim vote or consolidating the Hindu vote -- could play into the hands of the BJP.
This is one reason why the Opposition block has tagged Owaisi the BJP's "B Team" -- an allegation the 56-year-old has spiritedly refuted.
