All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Bihar president Akhtarul Iman on Friday said the party’s decisions are guided by “perception and ground reports,” noting that it had earlier allied with Humayun Kabir’s party after sensing public support.
“In politics, perception is a big issue. We had previously formed an alliance with Humayun Kabir’s party when we saw that there was support from the people. Minorities are supporting them, but the reports we received about them were not satisfactory. Our party works based on secular ideology. Our people became suspicious of them, and we parted ways with them,” Iman told ANI.
A “sting video” shared on X by the TMC purportedly showed AJUP chief Humayun Kabir claiming he had struck a deal worth “Rs 1,000 crore.” AIMIM said the video raised concerns about the “integrity of Muslims.”
Earlier, on April 13, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, addressing a public meeting in the Raghunathganj Assembly constituency in Murshidabad, spoke about the party’s decision to withdraw from the alliance with Kabir’s outfit. “...When a video surfaced, I declared that the Majlis would not tolerate the compromising of the interests of Bengal’s Muslims... Tell me, Mamata Banerjee and the TMC: did you not side with the BJP?... PM Modi and Mamata are two sides of the same coin. PM Modi and Mamata are like brother and sister. Mamata had claimed that she would not implement the Waqf Act in Bengal, but she lied merely to secure your votes...” he said.
Meanwhile, taking a sharp dig at the Election Commission, Iman alleged bias in the poll body’s functioning.
“There is no such thing as the Election Commission left anymore; the Election Commission is completely working as an agent of the BJP. Conducting SIR is within the Election Commission’s domain, but they are doing SIR right before the elections. Names of 91 lakh people have been removed, and in that, the names of mostly Muslim minorities have been struck off... This is the BJP’s nefarious attempt to capture Bengal,” he added.
Polling for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4.
(With inputs from ANI)