Owaisi’s proposal for pre-election alliance with Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal

Kolkata
Gadgad All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi is now eyeing West Bengal with the party’s performance in Bihar. Owaisi has proposed to join hands with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Owaisi, while offering a pre-poll alliance with Mamata, said that his party would help the Trinamool Congress in defeating the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections.

AIMIM’s confidence has increased significantly after winning 5 seats in Bihar’s Seemanchal region. In such a situation, Owaisi had announced that he would field his candidates in the West Bengal elections as well. AIMIM is eyeing Malda, Murshidabad and North Dinajpur with minority populations.

Mamta had told Owaisi ‘outsider’
Owaisi’s statement to TMC has come at a time when recently Mamata Banerjee had indirectly attacked AIMIM, saying that some would harass and terrorize outsiders. With this, he urged the people of the state to oppose the outsiders.

How much loss to Mamta due to Owaisi’s entry
Let us know that TMC is seeing AIMIM’s entry in Bengal elections as a threat. Actually, this time the main contest in the assembly elections is set to be between BJP and TMC. At the same time, Bengal Congress and Left are also fighting with Mamta. In such a situation, if Owaisi’s party lands strongly in Bengal, then Mamta may have to face its direct loss.

Congress accuses Owaisi
TMC MP Saugata Roy had claimed that AIMIM has been imposed by the saffron party to reduce TMC’s vote-share, while Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that Owaisi’s party aims for polarization. Adhir Ranjan had said but West Bengal has been denying the politics of polarization and communalism since independence.

Adhir Ranjan had earlier also described AIMIM as BJP’s B-team and said that his only goal is to divide Muslim votes and harm secular parties.

Strategy decided in the meeting of Left and Congress
The entry of Owaisi’s party in the Bengal elections has further increased the concern of political parties. The CPI (M) and Congress, who decided to fight together in the assembly elections, met on Tuesday night. Discussions were held in the meeting to determine the strategy for the next assembly election.

Both parties plan to reach out to well-known minority community leaders and community leaders. Together, the two parties have decided to organize a special event on 18 December on National Minorities Day.