New Party In Poll-Bound Bengal As Abbas Siddiqui Launches ‘Indian Secular Front’

Kolkata: Abbas Siddiqui, a Muslim cleric of Furfura Sharif in West Bengal, on Thursday launched a political outfit called the Indian Secular Front.

Slamming chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the 34-year-old Furfura Sharif cleric said that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo had failed in uplifting the status of minorities in the state.

“The chief minister makes false promises about upliftment of the minorities but never keeps them. The BJP, on the other hand, is a communal party. Our party Indian Secular Front has been formed so that everybody can enjoy social justice and constitutional democracy is also protected,” said Siddiqui.

Siddiqui claimed that the BJP is harming peace of the country, and added that Mamata is instrumental in bringing the saffron camp into Bengal politics.

Slamming Siddiqui, TMC MP Saugata Roy said that it would be impossible for the new party to get a toehold in Bengal politics in three months.

“In every state, new players enter politics just before the elections. Abbas Siddiqui is a new player. But it is hard to do anything in just three months. Even if he manages to snatch even a single vote of TMC, it would help the BJP. The minorities are with the TMC and will remain so,” said Roy.

Notably, All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi had met Siddiqui on January 3 and given Siddiqui the power to pitch and select candidates, even on behalf of AIMIM.

According to poll analysts, the new party headed by a Muslim will provide a tough fight to the ruling TMC as 120 out of 294 assembly seats are minority dominated.

“Muslim votes are definitely a decisive factor… 120 assembly seats are directly under their influence. The rest of the constituencies also have sizeable Muslim voters. With the entry of Indian Secular Front, it can be a direct threat to the TMC,” they pointed out.