Owaisi announces alliance for Bengal polls: AIMIM to contest Humayun Kabir’s AJU party

Chairman, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Asaduddin Owaisi The party will enter an alliance with Humayun Kabir-led Amjanathan Unayan Party (AJUP) in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, it was announced on Sunday.Announcing the partnership, Owaisi said, “AIMIM has decided to enter the West Bengal elections in alliance with the BJP. We want to strengthen AIMIM, ensure success of our candidates in every nook and cranny of the country and elevate the voice of the poor and downtrodden in the Parliament… In West Bengal, 5 lakh backward category certificates have been cancelled, majority of them belonging to Muslims. There are many stories of oppression. They ensured votes in the elections in the name of secularism but they don’t like it when the Congress promotes sharing and representation…”He also said, “I will hold a press conference with Humayun Kabir in Kolkata on March 25.”

Kabir, the former All India Trinamool Congress leader and AJUP founder, had earlier said that his party would contest 182 seats in the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections. “I had announced 15 candidates earlier. Now, Humayun Kabir will contest from Rani Nagar; he is doing additional work. Then, another businessman named Humayun Kabir will contest from Bhagwangora. Also, Manisha Pathak Pandey will contest from the 64th Murshidabad seat. So, with the 15 candidates announced earlier and now these three candidates, we have announced the list of 18 candidates today,” he said.He added: “My party and the coalition we are in will fight for 182 seats. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will be a partner and will contest in about eight of these seats. “The Election Commission of India said that the West Bengal Assembly election will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, 2026, and the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4. The first phase will cover 152 constituencies and the second phase will cover 142 seats.West Bengal has a total of 294 assembly seats and over 645 crore voters, including over 5.23 lakh first-time voters in the age group of 18 to 19 years.The main contest is expected to be between Mamata Banerjee’s ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.In the 2021 Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress Party remained in power with a decisive victory, while the Congress Party and the Left Front failed to win any seats.