Humayun Kabir's Party To Contest 182 Seats In Bengal Polls, Eyes Tie-Up With Asaduddin Owaisi

Suspended Trinamool Congress leader and Bharatpur MLA Humayun Kabir on Saturday said that his newly-launched Janata Unnayan Party (JUP) will contest 182 seats in the West Bengal Assembly elections.

He further expressed his desire to form an electoral alliance with the Indian Secular Front (ISF) and Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM. However, the ISF has not yet issued any statement regarding an alliance with Humayun Kabir's party.

Earlier, Kabir had said that his party would contest 135 out of the total 294 Assembly seats in the state. His goal was to win at least 90 seats. The MLA from Bharatpur is confident that he will play a decisive role in the government formation next year.

READ: Analysis: Will Humayun Kabir Split Bengal Muslim Votes? New Party Challenges Trinamool

On Saturday, Kabir stated, "We have only one goal: to stop the BJP. Those who are calling me a traitor, like Mamata Banerjee, are the ones who have betrayed the Muslim community at every step. They betrayed the community regarding the Waqf (Act). They said they would handle it alone, but in reality, they deceived the people."

He then elaborated on his plans for contesting the Assembly elections. He said, "What kind of results will we achieve by contesting in 182 seats? Let me tell you, there will be a miraculous result. Something that the senior and experienced politicians of West Bengal have failed to achieve." He further said, "In future of Bengal politics, I and the ISF are joining forces. If AIMIM joins, they are welcome."

However, he has not yet disclosed anything about seat sharing. Humayun said he will wait until December 31 for those with whom he is discussing an alliance, and then he will announce the details of the alliance.

Humayun said that he will visit three Assembly constituencies for campaigning every day. He will use a helicopter to save time. However, Humayun is not worried about the Trinamool Congress, BJP, Congress or CPIM.

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Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress All-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee reacted to Kabir's statement, saying that anyone can form a party.

"Anyone can form a party. What is the problem? If one thinks one wants to, they can. People have to choose. People understand; they are smart. In 2019, you (Kabir) joined the BJP, the party that vandalised the Babri masjid. You did not want to set up a masjid then. If you want to make a mandir or masjid, then please make. But don't politicise the matter," Banerjee said during a news conference.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)