5 min readKolkataMar 25, 2026 02:27 PM IST
First published on: Mar 25, 2026 at 02:27 PM IST
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said Wednesday that the party is ready to provide an alternative political leadership in West Bengal, adding that minorities are “getting suffocated under the present leadership and now they have a clear option”.
Asaduddin Owaisi and Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) chairperson Humayun Kabir have announced that the two parties will form an alliance and contest the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections together.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata with Kabir, Owaisi said the main issue in the West Bengal Assembly election is the leadership of the Muslim community in the state. “I feel whatever the government data is, be it state or Central, it says that in states where there is no Muslim political leadership, their social, economic, and human development is very bad, and this has an organic connection with the political leadership,” he said.
“The biggest issue in West Bengal is the Muslim empowerment. It is a big issue for us. The main issue is Muslim political empowerment using a democratic process; we have confidence in that process, and we will fight together.”
Launching a scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress-led government, Owaisi said, “They can stop us, but cannot stop us all the time, we will keep on trying”.
‘They kept Muslims weak, used them only for votes’
The AIMIM leader said Muslims have been exploited the most and they want to end it. “We are talking of equality and self-esteem. We want to ask what they have done for the Muslims,” he said
Bringing up the issue of cancellation of five lakh OBC certificates in which many Muslim certificates were cancelled, Owaisi said it was the fault of the current government, and also alleged that with a minority population of close to 30 per cent in Bengal, there is hardly any representation in government jobs.
“How much Muslim representation is there? Only 7 per cent. How many Muslim boys and girls are not able to complete graduation? In Malda and Murshidabad, the water has arsenic. These issues are directly connected to political leadership. For many years, the TMC took the vote; they took our (minority) vote and said that the leadership is yours. But what they (TMC) did on the ground was just offer Eid namaz. Will that give us food or education for our children?”
Hitting out at the TMC for calling Owaisi and Kabir the “B” team of the BJP, the AIMIM president said, “We are the ‘M’ team. When Gujarat was burning, who was Mamata Banerjee sitting with and eating dhokla? She was supporting the Modi government. And talking of SIR, there is a video from 2004 or 2009 where I have seen Mamata Banerjee herself saying there are so many infiltrators and throwing the files on the deputy Speaker’s table”.
“When the Nandigram incident happened, all Muslim MPs wanted to come, but the Left Front government said no MP should come, but two of us came. From the airport, Suvendu [Adhikari] took us there on a motorcycle. Mamata Banerjee thanked us, and now suddenly I have become bad. This is politics of opportunism, and this is an elitist mentality that we will rule, and we will be slaves that will not happen anymore.”
Regarding Banerjee’s stand on the implementation of the Waqf Act, Owaisi said, “She said she will not implement Waqf now, see what is happening, so many Waqf properties are being exploited, and who is in power? For them, they kept Muslims weak and used them only for votes.”
Seats and rallies
Owaisi said the AIMIM will contest many seats but will support the AJUP. He added that his party has decided which seats it will contest and will announce them later. He added that he will visit Bengal on April 1 when Kabir will submit his nomination and a public meeting is also planned.
Kabir said they will contest 182 to 192 seats and nominate candidates together in these constituencies. “I had appealed to him (Owaisi) that we will do 20 rallies starting from Murshidabad and then will go to north Bengal, Birbhum, Uttar Dinajpur, Malda, and also in Kolkata,” Kabir said at a press conference.
He said they will hold their first rally on April 1 in Berhampore.
Owaisi and Kabir said they will focus on issues such as schools and development and stated that if they come to power, they will restore all cancelled OBC certificates.
Owaisi also hit out at the Election Commission of India. “In this election, if there is violence, then it is the failure of EC. If there is violence and they cannot stop it, then EC is completely compromised”.
The West Bengal Assembly election for the 294-member house will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29. The counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
Launching a scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress-led government, Owaisi said, “They can stop us, but cannot stop us all the time, we will keep on trying”. 
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