Seeking to reshape West Bengal’s minority electoral arithmetic ahead of the assembly polls, Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of “using Muslim votes but doing nothing for the community”, while pitching his party’s alliance with Humayun Kabir’s Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) as an alternative platform.
Addressing a press conference alongside Kabir, the Hyderabad MP said the AIMIM-AJUP association aims to build an “independent political leadership” for Muslims in the state, who he said constitute nearly 30 per cent of the population but lag in political and socio-economic representation.
“The biggest issue in West Bengal is Muslim empowerment. It is a big issue for us. The main issue is Muslim political empowerment through a democratic process. We have confidence in that process, and we will fight together,” Owaisi said.
Targeting the ruling party, he alleged that the TMC had reduced Muslims to a “reliable vote bank” while “failing” to address their core concerns.
“Nearly five lakh OBC certificates were cancelled. Among those, many belonged to Muslims. Is that not an issue?” he asked.
“Muslims constitute nearly 30 per cent of the population here. What is their representation in government employment? Only seven per cent. How many Muslim children are outside school? How many Muslim boys and girls are unable to complete graduation?” he said.
Dismissing what he described as “symbolic politics”, Owaisi said: “Coming to offer prayers on the day of Eid, does that fill my stomach? Does it light a lamp in my house? Does it ensure my children get a good future?”
Rejecting the TMC’s charge that the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen acts as the BJP’s “B team”, he said: “We are the M team.”
“When Gujarat was burning, with whom were they sitting and eating dhokla? She was supporting the (Narendra) Modi government,” he alleged, referring to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s earlier association with the NDA.
The AIMIM chief also claimed that Banerjee had earlier raised concerns about infiltration in Parliament. “There is a video. Go and see it. Between 2004 and 2009, I saw Mamata Banerjee throwing a file on infiltration on the table of the deputy speaker,” he said.
Recalling the 2007 Nandigram agitation, Owaisi said he had visited the area during the protests. “When the Nandigram incident happened in 2007, Muslim MPs wanted to come, but the Left Front government did not allow them. Two of us came. From the airport, Suvendu Adhikari took us on a motorcycle to Nandigram,” he said.
“Mamata Banerjee thanked us then. If I was so good then, how did I suddenly become bad today?” he asked.
Arguing that Muslims’ socio-economic indicators remain poor in states where the community lacks independent political leadership, Owaisi said there is an “organic connection” between political empowerment and development.
“In my opinion, all empirical data, whether from the West Bengal government, the Government of India or the NSSO, show that in states where the Muslim minority does not have independent political leadership, their social, economic and human development indicators are very poor,” he said.
Highlighting regional concerns, he pointed to arsenic contamination in districts such as Malda and Murshidabad. “Go to Malda and Murshidabad. The underground water there contains arsenic levels worse than the parameters set by the World Health Organisation. These problems are directly linked with political leadership,” he said.
Kabir, a suspended TMC MLA who later floated the AJUP, said the alliance aimed to strengthen Muslim political representation and end the “exploitation of weaker sections”.
“This alliance will never break. Whatever decision my elder brother takes and whatever direction he gives, I will follow that,” Kabir said, referring to Owaisi as his “bada bhai”.
He said the alliance plans to contest 182 seats in the 294-member assembly and could play a decisive role in the event of a fractured mandate. The combine will contest under a common “flute” (baansuri) symbol and hold around 20 joint rallies across the state beginning April 1, with the first in Behrampur in Murshidabad.
The AIMIM-AJUP alliance enters the fray amid signs of churn in West Bengal’s minority vote base, long seen as central to the TMC’s electoral dominance. Minority voters influence outcomes in over 110 of the state’s 294 constituencies.
Observers note that the emergence of smaller formations such as the Indian Secular Front led by Nawsad Siddique, along with the AIMIM-AJUP alliance, has added a new layer of competition in the state’s minority electoral landscape.
Targeting both the TMC and the BJP, Owaisi said: “Our situation is like an Urdu saying, 'phans gayi Razia gundo mein'. We are trapped between two sides.”
“People are feeling suffocated in the present political environment. They do not have a clear and strong option, and that is what we are going to present,” 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.
(With inputs from PTI)
