With the West Bengal assembly elections expected to be held in March or April next year, Hindu-Muslim politics has started taking the centre stage, at least in Murshidabad, where the suspended Trinamool MLA Humayun Kabir wants to build a Babri mosque.
Humayun Kabir had laid the foundation for Babri mosque at Beldanga near Murshidabad on December 6, the anniversary of Ayodhya Babri mosque demolition. Every Friday, thousands of people congregate on the field where the mosque is going to be erected.
People from Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, apart from West Bengal, have also come to this spot to offer Friday prayers.
Humayun Kabir has announced he will float a new political party on December 22 to challenge both Mamata Banerjee and BJP. He claims that Muslims in West Bengal are being hoodwinked by Mamata Banerjee.
Till December 6, Humayun Kabir was known as a Trinamool Congress MLA. He had a good following among Muslims in Murshidabad, but he had no political base of his own. After laying the foundation of Babri mosque, he has started projecting himself as a leader of Muslims in Bengal.
When Mamata Banerjee suspended him from the party, it had a negative impact on Muslims in Bengal. Humayun Kabir is trying to take advantage of this. He is now trying to float a third front in alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM.
The natural loser is going to be Mamata's Trinamool Congress. On Friday, after the namaaz, Humayun Kabir said his target is clear: to remove both Mamata Banerjee and BJP from Bengal.
Humayun Kabir's message is now reaching the grassroots among the Muslims. On Friday (December 19), there was a big turnout of devotees and Friday prayers had to be conducted in two shifts because of shortage of space.
People who had reached Beldanga told India TV reporter that Humayun Kabir is only trying to heal the scars on the hearts of Muslims after what happened in 1992.
Humayun Kabir says the design of Babri Masjid in Murshidabad will be similar to the one that was demolished in Ayodhya. He claims it will be a bigger one where 25,000 devotees can sit together and offer namaz.
The Babri mosque in Ayodhya was 65 feet tall, but the one that is going to be built in Beldanga will be taller, he said. Kabir says that at least Rs 300 crore will be required to build the mosque.
Till now, the cash collections from donation boxes amount to Rs 2.19 crore and another Rs 2 crore worth of building material has been collected. Those coming to Beldanga are being asked to bring a brick.
Surprisingly, devotees who came from Murshidabad appeared to be supporters of Humayun Kabir, while those who came from other districts of Bengal said, though Humayun Kabir has taken a good initiative, they will decide whom to vote for only at the time of polls.
Youths who came from Jharkhand said they were born after 1992, they had only heard about Ayodhya's Babri mosque, and they have come to Beldanga to watch how the new mosque is going to be built.
In his bid to build a 'Babri Masjid', Humayun Kabir has emerged as a leader of Muslims. He is getting crowds and several crores worth of money have started pouring in. He has now become a pain for Mamata Banerjee.
When he was suspended from the party, Trinamool leaders tried to discredit Humayun Kabir by alleging that he was being propped up by BJP to counter Mamata Banerjee's base among Muslim voters.
This view has no takers now and Humayun Kabir now wants to challenge Mamata Banerjee's hold on Muslims in West Bengal.
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