The defeat of the Trinamool Congress in the West Bengal assembly election has set off a fresh political storm. Amid the noise, the president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Asaduddin Owaisi, has launched a sharp and direct attack on Mamata Banerjee. Speaking to TrendKia, Owaisi argued that there was no single explanation for the TMC's heavy loss in Bengal; instead, the real driver was deep anger building up among ordinary people, and the Muslim community in particular.
'Treated as a vote bank, abandoned in crisis'
Owaisi alleged that Mamata Banerjee had viewed the state's Muslims as nothing more than a vote bank. According to him, when the community most needed support, in its hour of crisis, it was left to fend for itself. That resentment, he said, eventually turned into votes, and Muslim voters walked away from Mamata.
Four big reasons behind the loss
The AIMIM chief listed four main causes for the TMC's defeat. First, the large-scale corruption that spread during the Mamata government. Second, the breakdown in law and order, which he branded as misgovernance. Third, the SIR issue tied to the state's voter list. And fourth, and most important, what he called a betrayal of the Muslim community. In Owaisi's view, these factors together wrote the script for the election result.
He also said Mamata Banerjee had become completely cut off from the public due to the arrogance of power. She had no sense of the ground reality, he argued, and that distance pushed people towards change.
What exactly is the '5 lakh game'
The '5 lakh game' that Owaisi referred to in this political clash has its roots in OBC caste certificates. He recalled that roughly one and a half to two years ago, the Kolkata High Court had cancelled about 5 lakh OBC certificates in West Bengal. The most striking part, he noted, was that of those 5 lakh cancelled certificates, nearly 3 lakh belonged to people from the Muslim community alone.
Owaisi's contention is that while power was in Mamata Banerjee's hands, she could have passed a law in the assembly to safeguard the rights of these people, had she wished to. But according to him, nothing was done on that front.
A word of advice to the parties
Finally, Owaisi advised Mamata Banerjee and other political parties that the time had come to put a complete stop to discrimination against Muslims. He said bluntly that parties must stop treating Muslims merely as a means to win elections or as a vote bank, and must instead see them as equal and respected citizens of the country. He claimed that by displaying their anger in the Bengal election, Muslims had made it clear that they would no longer stay silent in the fight for their rights and rightful share.
