Kolkata: The fledgling alliance between Humayun Kabir’s Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) and Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) collapsed on Friday, barely a fortnight after it was stitched, after a purported video surfaced in which a person resembling Kabir was allegedly heard talking of a multi-crore deal with the BJP to dislodge Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The video shared by TMC, purportedly featuring Kabir, has sparked a political row in Bengal. In the clip, Kabir is allegedly heard saying he is working to defeat Banerjee with the support of the BJP. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, a few days ago, had held a joint rally with Kabir in Murshidabad, where the AIMIM chief declared that his party’s alliance with AJUP would continue beyond the Assembly polls and into the Lok Sabha elections in 2026.
Humayun Kabir’s revelations have shown how vulnerable Bengal’s Muslims are…AIMIM cannot associate with any statements where integrity of Muslims is brought into question,” AIMIM stated on its X handle on Friday morning.
“As of today, AIMIM has withdrawn its alliance with Kabir’s party. Bengal’s Muslims are one of the poorest, neglected and oppressed communities. Despite decades of secular rule, nothing has been done for them….” the post added.
“We will be contesting the Bengal elections INDEPENDENTLY and will have no alliance with any party going forward,” the AIMIM further stated. The AIMIM is contesting in 11 Assembly seats
in West Bengal.
During a joint rally, Owaisi had described Kabir as his “younger brother” and said AIMIM was not seeking many seats in Bengal but had come to stand by him.
Kabir had responded by calling the Hyderabad MP his “elder brother” and announced plans for 20 joint rallies across the state.
The first of those rallies was held in Berhampore on April 1. The last one was supposed to be organised in Kolkata. Instead, the alliance ended before it could get off the ground.
The BJP moved swiftly to distance itself from Kabir. Reacting to the allegations, Kabir said: “Is the Prime Minister of India really such a weak figure that he would hand over Rs 1,000 crore to Humayun Kabir? Do you take everyone for a fool?”