Babri mosque emotion; Muslim assertion could reshape Bengal polls: Humayun Kabir

KOLKATA: (Mar 20) Suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir believes the emotive issue of constructing a new Babri Masjid in Murshidabad at his behest, along with a growing sense of political assertion among Muslims, could influence the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections.

In an interview with PTI, Kabir, who has floated the Am Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) ahead of the high-stakes polls, claimed that the next state government may, for the first time since Independence, see either a Muslim chief minister or a Muslim deputy chief minister.

He said that his outfit would contest 182 seats in alliance with AIMIM and could emerge as a decisive player in government formation if the verdict produces a fractured mandate.