“Want To Be Kingmaker”: Muslim Preacher Announces Party For Bengal Polls

Kolkata:

A brand new political social gathering was born in Kolkata on Thursday and can be a part of the scramble for a slice of the 294-seat pie within the West Bengal meeting within the upcoming elections.

The social gathering’s identify: Indian Secular Entrance or ISF. Its chief patron Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui, a 34-year-old preacher-turned-politician. He belongs to the household related to Furfura Sharif in Hooghly district, one of many holiest mazars within the nation, second solely to Ajmer Sharif.

The brand new social gathering’s targets are lofty: upliftment of backward plenty – Muslims, tribals and Dalits. However its start is pushed by disaffection with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and will cut up her so-called vote financial institution in Bengal.

“When Mamata got here to energy, she stated she would give jobs and training and 15 per cent reservation. We believed her and I advised my supporters, let’s again Mamata and my supporters voted for her. However now they’re seen she did not do something. As an alternative, she created a divide between Hindus and Muslims. So, I believed let’s not rely on others to do what is required. Let’s kind our personal social gathering,” stated Abbas Siddiqui.

The Pirzada struck a coup of kinds earlier this month. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi flew to Kolkata in a considerably secretive trend on January 3 and met him at Furfura Sharif.

Mr Owaisi desires his social gathering to contest the Bengal elections. He had declared so, after AIMIM good points in Bihar. He advised Mr Siddiqui he was prepared to struggle on this state below his management.

Each vote-cutters scoffed the Trinamool Congress. “Many are coming to help BJP in Bengal however nothing will make any distinction. Whether or not it’s MIM or anybody else, everybody is aware of they’re BJP’s vote katuas. They’re insignificant,” stated Trinamool minister firhad Hakim.

“They’ll haven’t any influence in Bengal the place nobody votes on communal traces,” he added.

BJP’s state chief Dilip Ghosh felt otherwise.

“Why does Trinamool assume the Muslim vote is their monopoly?” he stated. “Muslims of Bengal are probably the most backward. That is the Sachchar Committee’s discovering, not mine. If somebody desires to kind a celebration, in a democracy, he has the precise. However If somebody thinks they personal a group, that’s fallacious. In the event that they need to social gathering on the event, that is positive.”

It’s not as if Abbas Siddique has no baggage. His uncle, Toha Siddique who’s a senior Pir at Furfura Sharif, is thought to again Mamata Banerjee. The nephew’s determination to kind a celebration of his personal to rival hers is a reason for friction. Sources additionally declare that Abbas would have stayed with Mamata Banerjee if Trinamool had given him 40-odd seats to subject his personal candidates.

However his social gathering has now arrived. The preliminary plan is to kind a entrance with like-minded events and struggle all seats in Bengal through which a big 30 per cent voters are Muslim. The Pirzada has made a mark amongst massive sections of them as a preacher. In actual fact, many view him has a social media phenomenon. However can he pull within the votes?

That query will definitely dangle over the upcoming elections now on what’s being known as the Pir Influence on Bengal ballot. He has made no secret of his ambition. In his debut look in his political avatar, the Pirzada has declared he desires to be the kingmaker.