Kolkata, December 22, 2025: Suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Humayun Kabir on Monday announced the formation of a new political outfit, the Janata Unnayan Party, intensifying political churn in West Bengal ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Addressing a public rally in Beladanga, the Bharatpur legislator said his newly floated party would work for the welfare of the “aam aadmi” and asserted that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would not return to power in the next polls, which are due in less than six months. Kabir claimed that the chief minister had become increasingly disconnected from ordinary citizens.
The announcement comes days after Kabir was suspended by the TMC over a controversy triggered by his decision to lay the foundation stone for a Babri-style mosque in Murshidabad district. Distancing himself from his former party and the Congress, Kabir said he had deliberately chosen a name and identity that carried no legacy of either outfit. He also unveiled the party’s flag, bearing yellow, green and white colours.
Kabir declared that the Janata Unnayan Party would contest the 2026 Assembly elections and named eight constituencies where candidates have already been finalised. He said he would personally contest from Rejinagar and Beldanga, both currently represented by the TMC, expressing confidence of victory in both seats.
Releasing the party manifesto, Kabir said his first preference for an election symbol would be a ‘table’, subject to Election Commission approval, recalling that he had contested as an Independent on the same symbol in 2016. His second choice would be ‘twin roses’.
Among the candidates announced were nominees for Bhagabangola, Raninagar, Murshidabad, Ballygunge, Kharagpur Rural, Baisnabnagar and Harirampur. Kabir said the final number of seats to be contested would be decided later, though he had earlier indicated that the party may field candidates in around 135 of the 294 Assembly constituencies.
The move drew sharp reactions from rival parties. The BJP accused Kabir of attempting to indirectly help the TMC by splitting votes, with state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya dismissing the new outfit as politically irrelevant. The TMC also played down the development, with spokesperson Jayprakash Majumdar terming it a communal provocation and predicting that the party would fade away like similar experiments in the past.
Kabir was suspended by the TMC on December 4 following the mosque controversy. Two days later, on December 6—the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition—he went ahead and laid the foundation stone at Rejinagar, further fuelling the political row.
Over the past decade, Kabir has had stints across the political spectrum. He was expelled by the TMC in 2015, contested the 2016 Assembly elections as an Independent, later joined the Congress, switched to the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and eventually returned to the TMC before winning the Bharatpur seat in the 2021 Assembly polls.
