Overview
- Suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir, who launched the Janata Unnayan Party, said he will not ally with Congress and is pursuing understandings with AIMIM and the CPI(M)-led Left Front.
- JUP and the Indian Secular Front are coordinating with smaller outfits, including SDPI, after earlier sending proposals to the Left and Congress, with Congress now effectively sidelined by Kabir’s stance.
- ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui’s January 17 call for an alliance against both TMC and BJP catalysed negotiations for a minority-focused front.
- Analysts say any new bloc could split the Muslim vote in pockets such as Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur, though TMC remains dominant statewide.
- Kabir’s rise followed his Babri Masjid replica project in Beldanga and taps grievances over voter roll revision, OBC reclassification and the state’s implementation of the amended Waqf law.