Overview
- Suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir has launched the Janata Unnayan Party and says it will field candidates in 182 Assembly constituencies, with alliance talks underway with AIMIM and ISF and seat-sharing details expected after December 31.
- In a new interview, Kabir tied his push to a Babri Masjid foundation event in Murshidabad and said he aims to start construction before February 15, adding he would respond to any attempts to incite trouble.
- Political observers say a JUP alignment with Asaduddin Owaisi and Abbas Siddiqui could split Muslim votes that have sustained the TMC, potentially shifting outcomes across roughly 100 seats.
- A Murshidabad court on December 23 sentenced 13 people to life imprisonment over April’s communal violence, while the Supreme Court earlier upheld cancellation of 25,753 school jobs and ordered payment of 25% DA arrears, intensifying legal pressure on the state government.
- The campaign climate is growing more polarised as disputes over voter roll revisions and identity-focused messaging eclipse development pledges and economic concerns raised by both the government and critics.