JALPAIGURI: west bengal chief minister Mamata banerjee Tuesday slammed the BJP for trying to import Asaduddin Owaisiis AIMIM in Bengal to sharpen communal polarization and divide Hindu-Muslim votes among themselves.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) after its good show in the Bihar assembly polls has announced that it will participate in the Bengal elections next year.
In the recently concluded Bihar elections, AIMIM won five seats in the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region on the West Bengal border.
“To split the Muslim votes, the BJP is spending millions of rupees to bring in a party from Hyderabad. The plan is that the BJP will eat the Hindu votes, and this party from Hyderabad will eat the Muslim votes.
“In the recent Bihar elections, they did the same. This party is a BJP team,” Banerjee said while addressing a rally here.
Political parties in West Bengal fear that the political equations in the communal polarized state are poised to witness significant changes as the dominance of non-BJP parties over minorities, a key factor in several seats, appears poised to a tough challenge with AIMIM. announcing that he will enter the electoral contest in Bengal.
A deciding factor in nearly 100-110 seats in the state, 30 percent of the Muslim population, as of 2019, has acted as a bulwark of the TMC against their rivals, most of them voting for the party, considering it a “credible” force that can resist the saffron boom.
A section of TMC leadership fears that with the entry of AIMIM, the equations are likely to be upset.
Elections for the 294-member West Bengal assembly are due to take place between April and May next year.
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