As the election in West Bengal draws closer, The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) has joined forces, prominent radical Islamic preacher, Abbas Siddiqui Furfura.
AIMIM Amir, Assaduddin Owaisi on Sunday (December 3) arrived at Futura Sharif in Bengal”s Hooghly district and held discussions on for the upcoming assembly polls with Abbas Siddiqui Furfura which is seen by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as a ploy to cut the Muslim vote.
Owaisi recently enjoyed electoral success in Bihar and now West Bengal which has over 30 per cent Muslim population is a perfect breeding ground for AIMIM to consolidate in few pockets of the state.
After meeting Abbas Siddique Furfura, Owaisi said, “Whatever decision Abbas Siddique takes the AIMIM will stand by him,”.
“Owaisi wanted to keep the meeting a secret as we were apprehensive that the TMC government would stop him from exiting the airport. From Kolkata airport, he went straight to Hooghly to meet Abbas Siddiqui. He will leave for Hyderabad in the afternoon,” PTI quoted AIMIM state secretary Zameerul Hassan as saying.
Abbas Siddiqui Furfura belongs to the powerful Siddiqui Furfura Sharif Darbar located in Jangipara in Hooghly district and is known for his fiery speeches and has considerable influence in districts such as Hooghly, Burdwan, Murshidabad and North and South 24 Parganas—which account for 120 of the 294 assembly seats.
Earlier this year, Abbas Siddiqui Furfura courted controversy when a video emerged in which the cleric could be heard saying, “Allah Amar Bharat borshe emon kathin ekta virus dig, ei bharat borshe jano, 10-20-50 koti log more jaye (I pray to Allah that he sends such a deadly virus in India which kills up to 50 crore people)“.
Taking a leaf out of the playbook of left-liberal parties and Islamic Sharia law Abbas Siddiqui Furfura in his campaign promise has announced that he ban liquor ban, a rapist will receive the death sentence and the handing over of Muslim and adivasi properties to the communities.
Mamata Banerjee who won the last two elections thanks to her appeasement politics now finds herself at the political crossroads as there is growing divide between Hindus and Muslims in the state due to her appeasement politics.
Furfura has been very vocal in his criticism of Mamata state government and has publicly said, “There are four crore Muslims in West Bengal. Mamata should not forget that we can always resurrect the Congress or the CPI(M) from their graves as the secular alternative in West Bengal,”.
However, there is a divide in the Muslim votes also, as the 30 per cent of the population, largely follow either of two religious institutions—the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind an offshoot of Deobandi ideology and Furfura Sharif.
With Owaisi jumping into the complicated politics of West Bengal, Muslims who helped Mamata Banerjee win two elections is now being seen as raison d’etre to her political downfall and the rise of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state.
However, Owaisi’s decision could backfire as there are many Muslim leaders in West Bengal could also see him as a threat. Recently the Muslim wing of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had invited Owaisi which led a serious problem from local Muslim parties who view him as an outsider.
Local Muslim parties like the Manidhaneya Makkal Katchi, Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham and other Muslim groups came down heavy on the DMK as they sensed a threat to their local Muslim vote bank from an outsider Muslim which could be the case in West Bengal also.