Owaisi’s AIMIM to contest Bengal elections; Alliance with Humayun Kabir, will contest on 182 seats

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New political alliance in West Bengal: Owaisi and Kabir together

Kolkata. There has been a new turn in the politics of West Bengal. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has announced that his party will contest the upcoming assembly elections in alliance with Humayun Kabir’s ‘Aam Janata Unnayan Party’. Formal information about this alliance will be given in a joint press conference organized by Owaisi and Kabir in Kolkata on March 25.

Number of candidates and seats

Humayun Kabir’s party has already made it clear that it will field its candidates on 182 seats. AIMIM is also a part of this alliance and can field its candidates on about eight seats. Kabir has so far released the list of 18 candidates, which includes important seats like Raninagar, Bhagwangola and Murshidabad. Humayun Kabir himself will contest from three seats: Bhagwangola, Nauda and Rajinagar, which fall in Murshidabad district.

election dates

This time elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases:

• First phase (152 seats): 23 April 2026
• Second phase (142 seats): 29 April 2026
• Result: To be declared on 4th May 2026

political context

This alliance of Owaisi and Kabir can have a significant impact in Muslim-dominated areas in the contest between Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The position of Congress and Left parties had weakened in the 2021 elections, due to which this new alliance is trying to emerge as a ‘third angle’ in the politics of the state.