"Main contest is between BJP and TMC": BJP leader Prakash Reddy ridicules AIMIM-AJUP alliance ahead of West Bengal polls

Speaking with ANI, Reddy described AIMIM as "the most communal party", citing their failure in the previous elections. Further lauding the BJP's "nationalist outlook" in the election campaign, he asserted that the ruling TMC is appealing to a "specific section of society."

BJP leader Prakash Reddy on Monday dismissed the AIMIM-AJUP alliance as "insignificant" in the forthcoming West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections, stating that the main contest remains between the BJP and the TMC. Speaking with ANI, Reddy described AIMIM as "the most communal party", citing their failure in the previous elections. Further lauding the BJP's "nationalist outlook" in the election campaign, he asserted that the ruling TMC is appealing to a "specific section of society."

"This isn't new... The party they're allying with is, like AIMIM, the most communal party. In the last election, it failed to win a single seat and received less than 1% of the total vote. The role of the AIMIM in the West Bengal elections is very insignificant. The main contest is between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress, with the BJP adopting a nationalistic outlook and the Trinamool Congress appealing to a specific section of society. I don't think Asaduddin Owaisi will have any impact in the West Bengal elections," he said. His remarks come a day after All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi announced that the party will contest the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections in alliance with Humayun Kabir's Aam Janata Unnayan Party.

Owaisi, speaking exclusively to ANI over the phone, said, "I will hold a press conference in Kolkata with Humayun Kabir on March 25." Earlier on Thursday, Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) founder and former All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Humayun Kabir said that his party will contest 182 seats in the upcoming 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.

"My party, along with the alliance we are in, will contest in 182 seats. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will be a partner and will contest in approximately 8 of those seats," he added. The West Bengal Assembly elections will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29, 2026, with the counting of votes scheduled for May 4.

The last assembly election in the state was held in eight phases in 2021 amid an intense contest between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by Mamata Banerjee and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress and Left Front drew a blank in the last state polls. (ANI)

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