AIMIM Hopes to Upset Mamata's Apple Cart

AIMIM plans to contest all 294 West Bengal Assembly seats in the 2026 elections, seeking Muslims' support.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

After anti-incumbency and corruption charges, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee now faces a fresh challenge. The Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has decided to contest the 2026 West Bengal elections. It is targeting the same Muslim vote bank that has strongly supported Mamata Banerjee through the years.

According to the 2011 Census, Muslims constitute 27% of the electorate in West Bengal. This segment has always voted en bloc for the Trinamool Congress, which has been a key reason for the party's repeated electoral victories.

In a press conference in Kolkata this week, AIMIM claimed that Muslims now make up more than 40% of West Bengal's population and announced it would contest all 294 Assembly seats in the 2026 polls, seeking the support of the Muslim community.

"We are here to make a big announcement. We fought in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Delhi. In Bengal, we will fight from all seats. In the last panchayat elections, the AIMIM received 60,000 votes in Malda, 25,000 in Murshidabad, and 15,000 to 18,000 in other areas," AIMIM leader Md Imran Solanki said.

"We have around 3 lakh members in Bengal and won about 1.5 lakh votes in the 2023 Panchayat elections just from Malda and Murshidabad," Solanki added.

He stated that the party's first priority would be to increase its membership in the state.

To facilitate this, the party has adopted a strategy similar to that of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by announcing a mobile number for prospective members to register by giving a missed call.

Speaking to The Sunday Guardian after the press conference, Solanki said, "We have been actively working at the grassroots for the past five years. We shall reap the benefits next year."

He mentioned that the formal campaign would start next month, with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi expected to be present.