Opposition slams AIMIM-Humayun Kabir alliance as ploy to help BJP in Bengal polls

The alliance between the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Humayun Kabir in West Bengal has not gone down well with the Opposition parties, who slammed the poll pact as a bid to boost the BJP’s prospects in the upcoming Assembly elections by dividing minority community votes.

TMC calls tie-up ‘bad development’

Despite admitting that the alliance “may divide” Muslim votes, TMC MP Saugata Roy said that the two parties do not have any base in West Bengal and would not be able to get votes. However, he termed the alliance as a “bad development”.

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“Owaisi’s outfit is actually helping the BJP. But it will not have any impact. They do not have strength and will not get votes,” Roy told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

Congress sees bid to weaken secular forces

As for the Congress, the grand old party termed the alliance as a bid to “weaken” the secular forces, adding that it was determined on keeping communal forces at bay.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore alleged that “some people have taken a contract to weaken the secular forces”.

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Another Congress MP, Ujjwal Raman Singh, said forming alliances is a political choice but stressed that the focus should remain on defeating communal forces.

“Whether someone forms an alliance with someone else is their own matter. But defeating communal forces is our goal, and for this the Congress party will continue to work consistently,” he said.

‘AIMIM aiding BJP’

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi alleged that AIMIM often ends up helping the BJP.

“Whenever the BJP is in crisis, it calls the AIMIM, which is on its speed dial. The party invites them to come and participate and help it win,” she claimed.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Maji labelled the AIMIM as the BJP's "B-team", alleging that it participates in elections only to benefit the saffron party by dividing the opposition's vote share.

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“This has been happening everywhere. You have seen that wherever they (AIMIM) have fielded their candidates, it has ended up benefiting the BJP. That is why, in many states, people from their own community choose not to support them and instead vote for the party that is more likely to win and defeat the BJP," she told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

"In Bengal, people chose Mamata Banerjee and even people from the Muslim community supported her because she could win and defeat the BJP. But by doing this, AIMIM ends up cutting votes, which in turn benefits the BJP significantly. Because of this, we see AIMIM as the BJP’s ‘B team’."

The backdrop

AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi has tied up with Humayun Kabir's Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) for the high-stakes West Bengal Assembly polls. Polling for the 294-member Assembly is scheduled on April 23 and 29, with counting of votes on May 4.

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Humayun Kabir, a former Trinamool Congress MLA, has built a presence in parts of central Bengal, particularly in Murshidabad district. He had earlier sparked controversy with his call to construct a mosque modelled on the Babri Masjid.

After his expulsion from the Trinamool Congress, Kabir launched his outfit, the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP), in December 2025.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi announced the alliance with AJUP on Sunday (March 22, 2026) in Hyderabad.

(With agency inputs)