Beldanga (WB), Apr 6 Three adjoining assembly constituencies in West Bengal's Murshidabad district have become the most volatile battleground in the 2026 election, with the proposed mosque, modelled after the Babri Masjid, in Rejinagar reshaping allegiances, intensifying religious identities, and potentially fracturing the support base of the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Bharatpur, Rejinagar, and Beldanga form a contiguous area around the site where suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir, now the founder of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP), laid the foundation stone for a mosque on December 6 last year, based on the demolished structure in Ayodhya.
What began as a local act of defiance after Kabir's expulsion from the TMC has, within months, transformed into the emotional focal point of the election in this part of Murshidabad.
Every campaign, conversation, and political calculation here revolves around the question: Can the "Babri" appeal consolidate Muslim voters behind Kabir, or will it trigger a counter-consolidation among Hindus?
The first Eid prayers held there in March drew crowds from Murshidabad, Nadia, and North 24 Parganas.
Trucks carrying bricks and cement arrive almost daily, and donation boxes are overflowing. Videos of supporters carrying bricks on their heads have gone viral on social media, transforming the under-construction mosque into a political symbol larger than the constituency itself.
For the BJP, this imagery is politically invaluable. "Every brick being carried in the name of Babri is helping consolidate Hindu votes in this area. People see it as another example of appeasement politics," said a senior BJP leader from Murshidabad.
Party leaders cite the project as proof of "appeasement politics" and argue that it is fueling anger among Hindus in nearby areas, where a significant number of voters belong to the majority community.
The TMC, however, fears that Kabir, especially after joining hands with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, could erode its support base among Muslim voters in this very constituency, where the ruling party has traditionally held sway.
"Humayun is trying to create an emotional issue before the polls, but people know who stood by them in difficult times. Development and welfare, not provocation, will decide the election," said a senior district TMC leader.
Murshidabad, where nearly seven in every 10 residents are Muslims, has been a strong pillar of TMC's minority support.
Of the state's 85 Muslim-dominated constituencies, the TMC won 75 in 2021. However, the AJUP-AIMIM combine is now seeking to turn the Babri Masjid issue into a rallying point for political assertion among Muslims, particularly younger voters disillusioned with both the TMC and the Congress.
Rejinagar is at the centre of this experiment. The constituency, primarily rural with around 65% Muslim population, is where Kabir is contesting this time. He first won the seat in 2011 as a Congress candidate, lost the 2013 bypoll after joining the TMC, and then won again in 2021 by a margin of over 68,000 votes, representing the TMC.
Now, Kabir is trying to transform Rejinagar into the launchpad for his new party by making the Babri mosque the central theme of his campaign.
"This is not just about a mosque. It's about self-respect and political dignity. Muslims in Bengal now want their own voice, not just token representation," Kabir, who shifted to this seat from Bharatpur, told