Humayun Kabir to contest from two seats in Bengal Assembly polls

Kolkata: Like the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, suspended Trinamool Congress legislator Humayun Kabir, who recently floated his own political party, will contest simultaneously from two Assembly constituencies in the minority-dominated Murshidabad district in the forthcoming two-phase Assembly polls in the state next month.

However, he will not contest from the Bharatpur Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district, from where he was elected in 2021. Instead, he will contest from Rejinagar and Naoda Assembly constituencies, both in Murshidabad district, as a candidate of the Aam Aadmi Unnayan Party (AAUP), the new political outfit floated by him.

Initially, it was perceived that Kabir would contest from the Beldanga Assembly constituency, considering that the Babri Mosque, Kabir’s brainchild, is being constructed there. However, on Wednesday, while announcing the names of some of the AAUP candidates, he said he would contest from Rejinagar and Naoda.

“I have decided to contest from Rejinagar and Naoda to give the Trinamool Congress a lesson,” Kabir said while announcing the names of some of his party’s candidates.

From Beldanga, AAUP has fielded the party’s state president, Syed Ahmed Kabir.

It is learnt that some sitting Trinamool Congress legislators in minority-dominated Murshidabad and the adjacent Malda district, who have been denied re-nomination this time, have contacted Kabir and expressed their willingness to join AAUP.

“My only goal now is to teach the Trinamool Congress a lesson. That is why a new strategy has been devised. An ‘aggrieved’ Trinamool Congress leader is in constant touch with me,” Kabir said on Wednesday.

Kabir was suspended from the party soon after he announced the construction of the Babri Mosque at Beldanga, modelled on the original structure at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, which was demolished on December 6, 1992.

Soon after that, he announced the formation of his party. Kabir had also made a public appeal for an alliance with political parties and groups opposed to both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress ahead of the forthcoming Assembly elections.

However, except for initial discussions with Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), his efforts to forge broader political alliances have not made significant progress so far.

IANS