"Will Work, Speak For Aam Aadmi": Suspended Trinamool MLA Launches His Party

Humayun Kabir – the suspended Trinamool Congress MLA who kicked up a storm before next year's Bengal election, in part after his 'Babri Masjid-style' mosque in Murshidabad district led to a 'temple vs mosque' optics in the ruling party – launched his Janata Unnayan Party Monday. The JUP flag - which he said will soon "fly across Bengal" - would be unveiled later today.

Kabir also said his preferred choices for the JUP's symbol are a table and twin roses. 

Kabir - expected to ally with Asaduddin Owaisi for the 2026 election, though Owaisi's AIMIM has not confirmed talks - told NDTV he will shortly also announce six (very) early bird candidates – four from the district and two from West Midnapore.

The JUP will contest a total of 135 (of the state's 249) seats, he told NDTV, and will work for the aam aadmi, i.e, including Muslims. Kabir also offered a sarcastic reply to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's comment about a "political conspiracy".

"I feel proud Mohan Bhagawat has spoken about me. If Bhagwatji builds a mandir (i.e., Ayodhya's Ram Mandir, built after the Supreme Court ruling on the Babri Masjid issue) it is constitutional. If I build a Babri masjid it is unconstitutional," he said.

Kabir had earlier described his party as a "game-changer" in Bengal politics and vowed to prevent both the Trinamool from retaining power and the Bharatiya Janata Party from winning it. In a strong statement targeting Mamata Banerjee, Kabir told reporters, "In 2026, she will not become the Chief Minister and will not be sworn in… she will be branded as ex-Chief Minister."

The Trinamool suspended Kabir earlier this month - days before he laid the foundation stone for the Murshidabad mosque, which is supposed to replicate the 16th century masjid demolished in Ayodhya in 1992 - and underlined its belief in a "secular theory," while the BJP called the row an attempt to create communal tensions and a "calculated Trinamool agenda".

Muslims comprise a major vote bank for the Trinamool and the ruling party must now avoid losing those votes to Kabir (and Owaisi) while simultaneously blocking the BJP from making deeper inroads in the state, after it emerged as a stronger-than-ever force in the 2021 poll.