In what came as a jolt to Owaisi’s AIMIM, West Bengal unit chief of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s (AIMIM), Anwar Pasha along with some of his colleagues joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday. Anwar claimed that the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party was only acting as a polarizer of votes which would help the BJP in the upcoming Bengal election.

Alleging that a few people are trying to steer the country towards destruction using religion, Pasha said that those who are eyeing Bengal at present, whether “wearing saffron or green”, should know that there is no place for creating religious divisions in the state. He added, “AIMIM has played a hand in the polarization of votes in Bihar and thus helped the BJP in forming the government there, but this will not happen in Bengal.”

Anwar was welcomed to the TMC fold by ministers Bratya Basu and Moloy Ghatak. He said that 30 percent of West Bengal’s population is composed of Muslims and also stressed that the political developments in Bihar cannot be allowed to be emulated in Bengal. He asserted that it is essential to stop these divisive forces. He also added, “There have been developments in Bihar and these forces are trying to now enter Bengal. For years now, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christians have been living here in peace but there is an attempt to create a divide and use votes to make inroads here.”

Urging Muslims in the state to stand by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, he said that AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi should not come to Bengal.

Owaisi had said on Sunday that his party is deliberating to contest the West Bengal assembly elections due next year.

Mamata is the only CM to raise voice against CAA & NRC

Heaping praises on Mamata Banerjee, Anwar said that she was the only CM to raise voice against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and NRC. He also said that people and political parties accuse her of running appeasement politics but this is not true because if she gives money to the imams then she also gives it to the priests. This statement of Anwar likely came as a response to the recent opinion expressed by ex Supreme Court judge Markandeya Katju, that some policies of Mamata Banerjee, like giving ex-gratia to imams, might hamper her prospects in the Bengal polls 2021.