A series of recent events concerning Muslims in West Bengal has caused a slight degree of unease in the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, as the minority community is one of the two pillars of its electoral success over the past decade and a half.
The latest signal of an attempt to loosen the TMC’s grip on the community came on December 6, when party MLA Humayun Kabir, since suspended, laid the foundation for a “Babri Masjid” replica in the Muslim-dominated border district of Murshidabad. Two days later, on December 8, Kabir announced he would float his own outfit on December 22 and that he was in talks with the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM as well as the Indian Secular Front (ISF), which has the lone non-BJP MLA in the 294-member Assembly and is led by members of clerics who run the popular Furfura Sharif shrine in Hooghly district.
“You will see the impact shortly. We will contest 135 seats and will win at least 90. Whoever wins, Muslims will have a platform to place their demands. Many leaders of renowned parties are in touch with us … We will try to become the sole representative of the Muslims, whose interests have not been safeguarded by the TMC,” Kabir told The Indian Express.
Even as the MLA’s announcement is being viewed by some quarters as a message to the Muslim vote bank, Banerjee visited Malda and Murshidabad last week and promised to put an end to “communal hatred”. Despite recent shifts in minority politics in the state, there are no signals that the TMC does not retain the same level of support that it has enjoyed since 2011, when it came to power in the state.
According to the 2011 Census, Muslims make up around 27% of the state’s population and are concentrated in districts such as Murshidabad, Malda, and Uttar Dinajpur. Of the 22 Assembly constituencies in Murshidabad, the TMC won 20 in the 2021 Assembly polls, while in Malda it won eight of the 12, with the remaining going to the BJP. In Uttar Dinajpur, the ruling party won four of the six seats, but the BJP’s Raigunj MLA returned to the TMC fold after the elections.
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The other factors
However, compounding the unease within the TMC is the growing discontent among sections of the Muslim community about OBC reservation and the perception that the TMC government “backed down” on its anti-Waqf law stance by falling in line and agreeing to its implementation.
There were protests in Murshidabad town in October against the newly formed OBC list in the state, with protesters alleging Muslims had been “deprived”. They said 37 communities had been completely removed from the OBC list, while 34 more, including prominent Muslim groups such as Shershabadia, Khotta, Mullick, and Rajmistry (mason) were downgraded from OBC-A to OBC-B, reducing their chances of availing quotas in jobs and higher education. A month later, following months of vocal criticism of the amended Waqf law, the government ordered all District Magistrates (DMs) to upload the list of Waqf properties on the Centre’s UMEED portal.
The TMC’s concerns appear to be emanating from discontent on the ground, though the party is still confident about retaining the support of a majority of Muslims, believing they have no other option but to back them over the BJP.
Emphasising that Muslims in Bengal have “no alternative” other than the TMC, party spokesperson Jayprakash Majumder referred to the acronym TINA, which stands for “There Is No Alternative”. “It is better for them to stick with Mamata Banerjee rather than bring the BJP to power,” he said.
However, not everyone agrees. “I feel there will be an impact on the TMC’s Muslim vote bank in Murshidabad and other districts with a significant Muslim population (like North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas), as it is feeling betrayed now. We have always been told by the CM, even the other day, that the BJP will come to power if we do not vote for the TMC. How long will we be scared like this? First, the youth were deprived of jobs and education through the OBC list and then the state government did a U-turn on the Waqf law,” said Mir Hasnat Ali, president of the Paschim Banga Swadhikar Raksha Manch, a Murshidabad-based outfit working for Dalits, Muslims, and tribals.
Ali pointed to the “huge crowds” at Kabir’s December 6 event to make his point. “People are questioning why Kabir was insulted and expelled while the CM herself goes on announcing the construction of temples using government money,” he said.
Of the 32 Assembly seats in North 24 Parganas, the TMC won 27 in the 2021 polls, while the BJP was restricted to five. However, the BJP’s Bagdah MLA switched to the TMC, which then wrested the seat in the 2024 bypoll. In South 24 Parganas, the TMC won 30 of the 31 seats, losing only in Bhangar, which elected ISF chief Naushad Siddiqui.
Opposition takes aim
The issues have also provided ammunition to the Opposition Left, Congress and BJP to attack the ruling party. “The sudden attempt to build the Babri Masjid and hold Gita Paaths in Kolkata at the same time shows that Bengal is moving backward. It is getting into the politics of religious promises. The huge crowd at Kabir’s event shows the deep and developing mistrust among Muslims against the TMC. Muslims are feeling betrayed,” CPI(M) state secretary Md Selim told The Indian Express.
Asked about the OBC issue, Selim said, “The Left government brought Muslim communities under OBC-A and OBC-B based on their economic and social backwardness, due to which their representation rose significantly in jobs and higher education. The TMC is now throwing them out.”
In Bahrampur, former Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury appealed to people, including those in Murshidabad, not to be “swayed” by religious sentiments. “We should maintain brotherhood and harmony. The TMC will face heat from Muslims. People’s emotions are linked to Waqf properties. While she (Banerjee) gave in to the law, she could have moved the Supreme Court against it. At least, a resolution should have been passed against it in the Assembly. She has taken Muslims for granted and is insulting Muslim society,” he said.
BJP leader Rahul Sinha claimed that the TMC’s Muslim vote bank would be “eroded” after the Waqf and OBC reservation issues. “Understanding this, Mamata used Kabir to mobilise those Muslims who are angry with the TMC towards him as she fears they would vote for the BJP,” he said.