Ousted TMC leader Humayun Kabir is set to make his debut in the West Bengal Assembly elections after he floated the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AUJP) in a bid to challenge Mamata Banerjee’s party.
Kabir, who is influential in his native Murshidabad, has been in the news since he broke away from the TMC last year, appearing as a roadblock for the ruling camp in its attempt to unite minority voters.
Ever since the Bharatpur MLA announced his decision, there has been speculation about whether the AUJP will succeed in dividing the Muslim vote bank, which has been with the TMC in the last few elections.
However, the large party received few reinforcements, but faced many setbacks. The biggest hue and cry for the newly formed Kabir party was when Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM decided to enter into an alliance for the Assembly elections. However, the union did not last long.
From babri row to video sting
Humayun Kabir came into the limelight last year after a row with the TMC following his controversial role in laying the foundation for the proposed Babri Mosque in Murshidabad district on December 6, the anniversary of the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.
He was suspended by the TMC for defying party discipline and making provocative statements, while Kabir remained in the limelight amid the BJP’s attacks.
“I will be the kingmaker after the elections. No one can form a government without my support,” Kabir said before launching his party in December last year.
He added, “I said that I will compete for 135 seats. You will see that the party I form will win a large number of seats, to the point that anyone who will be sworn in as prime minister will need the support of my party agents.”
In April 2026, Kabir was again in the news after a video allegedly showed him claiming to have been in touch with BJP leaders and mobilizing Muslim voters against the TMC in exchange for $1000 Crores. He dismissed the video as a conspiracy while the BJP rejected suggestions of any links with Kabir.
The controversy led to AIMIM severing ties with AJUP. Owaisi’s party said he would contest the Bengal elections alone.
Does Humayun Kabir matter in Bengali polls?
Before the alliance with AIMIM faltered, Kabir announced a list of 154 candidates for the Bengal elections. The names of 15 candidates have already been announced.
Kabir had announced that AUJP will contest 182 of the 294 Assembly seats across West Bengal. The party has fielded non-Bengali Muslim candidate Poonam Begum against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Bhabanipur seat.
But the party suffered many setbacks even before the elections began. The party’s prospect of consolidating its minority vote bank has been met with alarm with AIMIM withdrawing from the alliance. Bengal has a large Muslim population, at 27 percent, one of the highest in the country.
The head of the Bangladeshi party, Khabib Amin, also resigned after the controversy surrounding the video.
Kabir asserted that AJUP remained strong in Muslim majority pockets and claimed that his party could emerge victorious in constituencies like Raghunathganj, Sothi, Nauda and Lalbagh. He claimed that his party could win as many as 100 seats in the state.
