NEW DELHI: Aam Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir has accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of ignoring Muslim voters while favouring Hindus through temple construction.“Mamata Banerjee takes Muslim votes and builds temples after becoming Chief Minister three times. She builds Jagannath Dham, and in Rajarhat, she is also building a Durga temple by taking Muslim land. When she does things for Hindus, won’t I work for Muslims?” Kabir told ANI.Kabir, who was expelled from the Trinamool Congress after proposing to build the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad, formed the Aam Janata Unnayan Party to contest elections in West Bengal. He recently joined hands with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi as part of their campaign against the TMC and BJP.“We won’t let Mamata Banerjee come back to power. She is distributing Rs 1,500 under the ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme; I promise to give women Rs 3,500,” Kabir said, signalling a larger outreach to Muslim voters.Speaking at a press conference earlier, Owaisi outlined the alliance’s strategy, saying their main goal was to build independent political leadership for Muslims in the state. “Our attempt is that a leadership from the Muslim minority emerges and strengthens in this election in West Bengal. We have decided the number of seats we will contest. This alliance is not limited to just this election, but it will be taken forward to achieve our political objective,” he said.Owaisi also highlighted development concerns in areas where Muslims lack political representation. “I believe, and government data from West Bengal, the Government of India, and NSSO confirms, that regions where the Muslim minority lacks independent political leadership have very poor social, economic, and human development indicators. There is an organic connection between development and independent leadership,” he added.Humayun Kabir has announced that his party will contest 182 seats in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, with around eight seats allocated to AIMIM. The elections will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with votes counted on May 4.
