Expelled Trinamool leader Humayun Kabir's party to contest 182 seats in West Bengal
The Hindu
Humayun Kabir's Aam Janata Unnayan Party will contest 182 seats, challenging Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur with a Muslim candidate.
Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Humayun Kabir on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) announced the first list of 15 candidates for his newly floated Aam Janata Unnayan Party, declaring that the outfit would contest 182 seats in the West Bengal Assembly election, and field a Muslim candidate against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the high-profile Bhabanipur constituency.
Mr. Kabir, who was expelled from the TMC in 2025, has remained in the spotlight in recent months over his plan to construct a mosque modelled on the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district, a move that had triggered sharp political reactions in the State.
"We are giving candidates in 182 seats. Today, we are announcing nominees for Malda and Murshidabad. The full list will be announced on Sunday around 1 p.m.," Mr. Kabir said, addressing a press conference. The former TMC leader also indicated that the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen(AIMIM), in coordination with his party, is likely to contest a few seats.
In a move likely to add another dimension to the already crowded Bhabanipur contest, Mr. Kabir said his party would field Poonam Begum, a non-Bengali Muslim candidate, against Ms. Banerjee in the south Kolkata seat.
The constituency is expected to witness one of the fiercest battles of the election, with Ms. Banerjee facing BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, reviving the political rivalry that defined the 2021 Assembly election.
The contest has quickly acquired the character of a prestige battle, not merely for a seat in the Assembly but for political supremacy in a State where the rivalry between the two leaders has come to symbolise the broader TMC-BJP confrontation.
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