"Trinamool's Muslim Vote Bank Will Be Finished": Suspended MLA Humayun Kabir's Warning

Suspended by Trinamool after his proposal to build a replica of the Babri Masjid in West Bengal's Murshidabad, MLA Humayun Kabir has vowed not to let Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee return to power for a fourth time next year.

"Trinamool's Muslim vote bank will be finished," he thundered, sounding a filmy threat for Banerjee, "picture abhi baki hai (the climax is yet to arrive)."

Speaking to NDTV a day after he laid the foundation of the proposed 'Babri Masjid' in Beldanga, Kabir said he will form his own party on December 22 and try an alliance with Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM.

He vowed to field candidates in 135 out of 294 seats in Bengal in next year's elections, a move that he claimed would make him a "game-changer" in state politics.

"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. I am in touch with AIMIM and will fight the election with them. I had a word with Owasi," he said. Neither AIMIM nor Owaisi has commented on this yet.

Trinamool isn't his only concern. The BJP's rise in Bengal remains a major headache for Kabir, as the mosque controversy threatens polarization before the 2026 state polls and the consolidation of Hindu votes.

"I will not let the BJP come to power in Bengal. Trinamool will not be able to form its next government," he said, adding that "many industries across India are going to help me. Muslims in India have a lot of funds; they are going to help build Babri."

The Trinamool had suspended Kabir, stating that they believe in a "secular theory," while the BJP called his mosque-building efforts an attempt to create communal tensions.

Muslims comprise a major vote bank for Banerjee's party that had been trying to block the BJP's efforts at making deeper inroads in the state, where the 2021 elections saw it emerge as a stronger force than ever.

Despite the odds, Trinamool swept the 2021 elections with a two-thirds majority, though Banerjee was defeated by the BJP in the epicentre of her political struggle, Nandigram.

Kabir's foundation event for the 'Babri mosque' saw a massive turnout on Saturday. Eight lakh people participated yesterday despite no support from the police, he claimed, as donations poured in in the form of bricks and cash.

National Highway-12 was left choked as hundreds of villagers from the Murshidabad and Malda districts joined the donation spree for the mosque. Trucks and tractors with bricks came from as far as North Dinajpur and Canning in South 24-Parganas.

Some of them viewed Kabir's efforts in the backdrop of the Ayodhya episode, where the 16th-century mosque was demolished in 1992, while some claimed it was a mark of protest against the alleged atrocities by the Trinamool.

BJP slams Humayun Kabir

Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya called the mosque row a "calculated Trinamool agenda." Kabir's suspension is only for show, he claimed, adding that Banerjee's party "stands with Babur, but we don't."

'Babri mosque' will never be accepted in Bengal, asserted his predecessor and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar. "No one is opposing the construction of a mosque, but building one in the name of Babur seems like an attempt to insult Hindus and provoke them. The Hindu community will respond appropriately," he said.