Kolkata, April 10 – The fledgling alliance between Humayun Kabir's Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) and Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM collapsed on Friday, just weeks after it was formed, following the surfacing of a video purportedly showing Kabir allegedly discussing a multi-crore deal with the BJP to oust TMC.
As the controversy unfolded, Union Home Minister Amit Shah rejected any connection between Kabir and the BJP, stating that both TMC leader and the BJP were "like the North Pole and the South Pole" and could never be together.
Kabir insisted that AIMIM's decision to dissolve the alliance would not affect his party's prospects and announced that AJUP would now contest the assembly elections independently.
"I built my party based on Owaisi's support. The fight I have started will continue, and I will not back down," Kabir said during a live interaction on social media.
The alliance ended after AIMIM announced on X that it was withdrawing from its alliance with Kabir's party and would contest the West Bengal elections independently.
"Humayun Kabir's revelations have highlighted the vulnerability of Bengal's Muslims. AIMIM cannot associate with any statements that question the integrity of Muslims," the party said.
"As of today, AIMIM has withdrawn its alliance with Kabir's party. We will contest the Bengal elections independently and will have no alliance with any party going forward," the post added.
This announcement effectively ended the political platform that Owaisi and Kabir had unveiled in Kolkata on March 25, projecting it as a new political platform for Muslims disillusioned with both the TMC and the Left-Congress combine.
At that time, Owaisi had described Kabir as his "younger brother" and said AIMIM was not seeking many seats in Bengal but had come to stand by him. Kabir had responded by calling the Hyderabad MP his "elder brother" and announced plans for 20 joint rallies across the state.
The first of those rallies was held in Berhampore on April 1. The last one was supposed to be organised in Kolkata. Instead, the alliance ended before it could take place.
The immediate trigger was a 19-minute video circulated by the TMC on Thursday, which it claimed showed Kabir speaking of a secret understanding with the BJP.
In the video, the authenticity of which