Furfura sharif cleric Abbas Siddiqui floats political oufit, hopeful of tie-up with Left-Cong

In a development that mightupset several political equations in election-bound Bengal,Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui of Hooghly district's Furfura Sharif onThursday floated a new political outfit, contending that hewishes to be the kingmaker after the polls.

The influential Muslim cleric said his new outfit --Indian Secular Front (ISF) -- plans to contest the electionsfrom all 294 assembly seats in the state.

The pirzada also said that a ''possible tie-up with theLeft-Congress alliance'' might be in the offing.

''We have formed this party to ensure thatconstitutional democracy is protected, everybody gets socialjustice and all of us live with dignity,'' Siddiqui, the headof the prominent Sufi mazar, said at the launch of hispolitical outfit at Kolkata Press Club.

The 34-year-old new entrant in West Bengal politics,however, sternly rejected assertions that his outfit would bea B-team of the BJP, eating into the vote share of the TMC,which largely banks on the state's 30 per cent Muslimelectorate during polls.

''Why are you talking about a split in Muslim votes?There are so many more political parties, but you never talkabout any split in Hindu votes. If there are some who haveproblems with my outfit, they should think about what needs tobe done. It is not my job to worry about the TMC's pollprospects,'' Siddiqui told reporters.

He also said that the ISF would put up a concertedfight against the BJP, but declined to brand thethe saffronparty as a ''communal force''.

Speaking about the possibility of forging an alliancewith other secular parties, including the TMC, Siddiqui saidit is Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's responsibility to bringeveryone on the same table.

''It is not my duty; it is her job to bring everyonetogether to fight against the BJP,'' he said.

The Sufi shrine head, however, stated that ''talks fora possible partnership with the Left-Congress alliance areunderway, and that he is optimistic about the outcome''.

''The TMC has failed to keep the promises it made tothe minorities. Mamata Banerjee had promised a lot of things,but none of them was fulfilled,'' he claimed.

Siddiqui further said that he aims to bring deprivedMuslims and Dalits to the mainstream.

''Since independence, many parties, claiming to besecular, have come into existence, but we have seen thatmajority of the deprived people haven't benefited. We aim tobring the deprived sections to the mainstream,'' he underlined.

Reacting to the cleric's assertions, the TMCleadership said that minorities in the state would firmlystand behind Mamata Banerjee in the next elections.

''The minorities are well aware of what Mamata Banerjeehas done for them. They will back the TMC,'' Sougata Roy,a senior leader of the ruling party, claimed.

According to sources in the ISF, the outfit isplanning to reach out to the Dalit and tribal outfits of thestate, seek their support and emerge as a formidable forcebefore elections.

Earlier this month, AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi hadmet Siddiqui in Hooghly and discussed the likelihood ofstitching an alliance for the polls, while accusing the TMC ofnot doing enough to stop the saffron surge in the state.

''Asaduddin saab has already said that he would supportme in this state. The nitty-gritty (of seat-sharing) would bedecided later,'' the pirzada added.

A deciding factor in nearly 100-110 seats in thestate, minorities, primarily Muslims, have acted as a bulwarkof the TMC against its rivals till 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Political parties in West Bengal are apprehensive thatequations in the polarised state are set to witness majorchanges as the sway of non-BJP parties over minoritiesappears to be up for a stiff challenge with the entry of theAll India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the ISF.

Elections to the 294-member Bengal Assembly are likelyto be held in April-May.