Humayun Kabir Claims West Bengal Will Soon Have a Muslim Deputy Chief Minister
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Kolkata, March 18 (NationPress) During a recent discussion with IANS, Humayun Kabir, the founder of the Janata Unnayan Party (JUP), asserted that West Bengal is poised to have a Muslim Deputy Chief Minister in the near future.
The state is set to conduct Assembly elections in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with results expected on May 4.
Kabir stated, “I have established a party to lead the government. I will represent the Muslim community. Soon, the Deputy Chief Minister in the Bengal Assembly will be a Muslim.”
He criticized the Trinamool Congress for failing to adequately represent Muslim candidates.
According to him, “Trinamool is apprehensive. They have included minorities such as Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, and Adivasis, but they have offered fewer Muslim candidates compared to previous elections—fewer in 2016, even less in 2021, and the least for 2026. They understand that Muslims are unlikely to support them, which explains their reluctance to nominate Muslim candidates.”
Kabir emphasized that his party will not align with the Trinamool Congress to form a government. “Our aim is to establish our own government. Why would we support them?” he remarked during his interaction with IANS.
At a press conference, he expressed confidence in winning two seats in the upcoming elections.
“I plan to reserve a seat. I predict that in Rejinagar, I will secure victory by 80,000 votes, and in Naoda, by 30,000–40,000 votes. I will ultimately retain one seat and relinquish the other,” he declared.
Both Rejinagar and Naoda are located in the Muslim-majority Murshidabad district of West Bengal.
Commenting on the Bhabanipur constituency, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will face off against Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari, he stated, “The outcome in Bhabanipur will only be clear once the voting is done. My candidate there will be a non-Bengali Muslim.”
It is important to note that Humayun Kabir was suspended from the Trinamool Congress last December after he suggested constructing a replica of the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad. He subsequently founded his own Janata Unnayan Party.
Kabir had previously announced that his party intends to contest in 182 seats during the West Bengal Assembly elections.