Humayun Kabir, the Trinamool Congress MLA for West Bengal’s Bharatpur constituency, has finally made a decision—which many had expected him to—to float a new party, just months away from the Assembly polls. On Saturday, he announced that he would launch his party on December 22.
While he will be the party’s chairman, the names of other office-bearers will be announced on the same day.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Kabir said he still respected his “didi”, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but that a lot had changed.
“Even now, I have Abhishek Banerjee’s picture in my DP, and I respect the chief minister a lot. But after she came to power, she has given importance to incompetent people and given positions to those who are good for nothing and ignored people like us.”
The TMC MLA said that such neglect would affect the party in terms of votes. “Someone should make the party realise this. So I decided that I would form a party with some of my people and win elections. When she needs us, we will be there. Right now, she does not realise what is right and what is wrong.”
According to Kabir, many party leaders and bureaucrats are leading the chief minister in the wrong direction. “The superintendent of police who was there in Murshidabad district previously, Surya Yadav, was a good person. But do the current SP’s actions and the ‘atrocities’ of the officer-in-charge and inspector-in-charge against the common man in Murshidabad—such as looting people—not reach Didi? How will she know? When she doesn’t know, how will she rectify this? Tell me?” he said.
According to Kabir, the new party will be launched at a rally of around 50,000 people. He said the party would work for the common people. Its top body will have representatives from Hooghly, Howrah, Burdwan, Nadia, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, and Cooch Behar.
“People change according to time and situation. The TMC had broken away from the Congress, and the new party was then the need of the hour,” said Kabir. The TMC MLA further said, “We are not against Didi or her principles, but we are against the atrocities that are going on in Murshidabad district in Didi’s name. This is leading the people over here to oppose the TMC. Didi is a three-time CM and TMC chairperson. But if the results are bad for the party, when those fighting the elections on the TMC symbol lose, Didi will understand whether they were right or wrong.
Over the past year, Kabir has repeatedly been embroiled in controversy for making comments against the TMC, which has been a source of embarrassment for the party. Not only TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, but Mamata Banerjee also had warned Kabir that such behaviour would not be tolerated. Kabir had also raised his voice against Berhampore TMC MP Yusuf Pathan.
Kabir has been censured by the TMC a number of times and even slapped with showcause notices for making public statements that embarrassed the party.
“I had given a lot of ultimatums and warnings, but when the party supremo called me, I would take a step back, as I have always respected her. Though that has resulted in some losses for me as the common people who support me ask why I had backed out despite being right,” Kabir told The Indian Express.
Kabir said, “I am not sad about leaving the party as there is a lot of partiality. In the Assembly, I had told the chief minister that when she did online administrative meetings. I had even submitted letters stating that in my district, a bridge is required to help the people of Birbhum, Murshidabad, and Nadia. The cost would be around Rs 30 crore. I have said this for four years, but she did not listen. Lakhs and crores of money are being spent in other sectors, but the bridge was not sanctioned. What will I tell the common man who voted for us? There are many incidents like this.”
“In August 2007, Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya came to Rejinagar and said that an industrial township would be developed and there would be employment for 1,000 people . But he lost, and the TMC came to power in 2011. Our Government has built many multipurpose buildings. Temples are being built. A budget was allotted for the sadhus who visit Gangasagar. All that is fine, but in these 14 years, what did the people of Murshidabad get?” Kabir said.
Kabir asked for the reason to “deprive and ignore” Murshidabad. “It is a Muslim-majority district where out of 22 seats, 19 seats are Muslim-led seats, and the people of Murshidabad gave it victory, but what has TMC given back to them? Everyone gets Lakshir Bhandar benefits, but how many of us have been given ministerial berths? We did not get chairmanship or ministerial berths even though we fought elections on the party symbol. But those joining the TMC after leaving the BJP are getting posts. So, for what reason should we stay back in this party?” Kabir said.
Kabir, who was a Congress MLA for Rejinagar in 2011 until his resignation from the party in 2012, had been expelled from Trinamool for six years for doing anti-party activities in 2015. He contested the 2016 elections as an independent but lost Rejinagar to Rabiul Chowdhury.
In 2018, he joined the BJP and contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Murshidabad but lost to the TMC candidate. He rejoined the TMC six years after his expulsion and won the Assembly election from the Bharatpur seat.