AIMIM gears up party activity in Bengal, TMC says will have no impact on Bangla Muslims

Days after saying he would make political inroads in West Bengal, Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), held a meeting of its local leaders on Saturday to take stock of the party’s strength in a state with a 27% Muslim population. Party insiders said Owaisi is likely to hold a public meeting in the state soon and sound the poll bugle ahead of assembly elections next year.

The party, which is putting in place its election machinery in the state, will start focussing on some key constituencies where it will field candidates. It is most likely to zero in on seats such as Murshidabad, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and a few others that a have significant Muslim population. Muslims formed 27.01% of the state’s population, as per the 2011 census. The community plays a decisive role in 120 out of 294 assembly seats in the state, political analysts say. Owaisi asked for honest feedback on the party's organisational strength in various regions of the state, according to at least two participants who took part in the meeting.

“Some of the leaders were only trying to project themselves. The MIM, which was very active across the State in 2019 during the anti-CAA protests, has various groups now which first have to be unified. Asad saab (Sir) will handle this strategically with his trusted people from Hyderabad making visits here," one of the participants said. Leaders from all the 23 districts were part of the meeting with Owaisi in Hyderabad.

Ever since it won five seats in the recently concluded assembly elections in Bihar, the AIMIM has been criticised by opposition parties including the Congress, which have called it an agent of the ruling BJP for splitting the vote. Owaisi has, however, maintained that it was a result of mainstream parties taking Muslims for granted that their development had always been ignored. The party had refrained from contesting in West Bengal last year because it wanted to defeat the BJP, he had said.

Saokat Molla, a TMC legislator and a prominent Muslim face in the party, said Muslims in Bengal were different from their counterparts in Bihar. "The Bangla Muslim knows who his friend is and who is pretending to be one to further the BJP agenda. The TMC not only provides basic facilities for Muslims, but also ensures their physical safety. It is because of the CM (Mamata Banerjee) that everything is peaceful," he said.

The MIM has a good chance of making an impact on the Muslim community, said Biswanath Chakraborty, a political analyst from West Bengal, particularly at a time when identity politics was becoming more relevant in the State. However, the party will have to form strategic alliances with local leaders such as Abbas Siddiqui, one of the most prominent Muslim clerics in Bengal, who has decided to contest the 2021 polls, he added.

“Siddiqui's meetings are pulling in crowds. In almost 140 seats, if there is a four-cornered contest, Muslim voters can decide the outcome," Chakraborty said. “There are Urdu-speaking Muslims in Kolkata and Uttar Dinajpur, but around 50% of Bengali Muslims are highly religious, hence if the MIM makes a pitch that Muslims are not safe here, it has a good chance to make an impact. Muslims who have come from Bangladesh have insecurities too that the party will look to address," he added.