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Opposition leaders on Monday criticised the alliance between Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir, warning that the move could divide votes and weaken “secular parties” ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has tied up with Kabir’s Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) for the high-stakes polls to the 294-member Assembly, scheduled on April 23 and 29, with counting on May 4.

Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy described the alliance as a “bad development”, cautioning that it may “isolate Muslim masses”.

“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 said in the Parliament House complex.

Congress leaders also voiced concern over the tie-up. MP Manickam Tagore alleged that “some people have taken a contract to weaken the secular forces”.

Another Congress MP, Ujjwal Raman Singh, said alliances are a political choice but stressed that the primary objective should remain 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.

 

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

 

“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 went further, calling AIMIM the BJP’s “B-team”. She alleged that the party’s participation in elections tends to split opposition votes, indirectly aiding the BJP.

 

“This has been happening everywhere. You have seen that wherever they (AIMIM) have fielded their candidates, it has ended up benefiting the BJP,” she said.

 

Referring to West Bengal, she noted that voters, including sections of the Muslim community, had backed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the past as the most viable challenger to the BJP.

 

The AIMIM–AJUP alliance is expected to add a new dimension to the electoral contest in West Bengal, with opposition parties wary of its potential impact on vote consolidation in key constituencies.