Patna (Bihar) [India], April 5 : AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday launched a sharp attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, alleging "double standards" on issues concerning Muslims.
Speaking to reporters here, he said that last year the High Court cancelled nearly five lakh backward class certificates, including around three lakh belonging to Muslims, but the issue did not receive adequate attention. The AIMIM chief also pointed to economic distress in districts like Malda and Murshidabad, stating that poverty remains a major issue in these regions.
"Mamata Banerjee has a double face. Last year, the High Court cancelled 5 lakh backward certificates. This included about 3 lakh backward certificates of Muslims. There was no discussion on that. She is releasing her manifesto in Urdu. There, Muslims make up 29% of the population, of which only 7% are in government jobs. There is a lot of poverty in Malda and Murshidabad", Owaisi said.
His remarks come amid intensifying political exchanges ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, TMC released its list of star campaigners for Phase I of the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026, featuring top party leaders, including Mamata Banerjee and AITC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
The list includes key names such as Subrata Bakshi, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Kalyan Banerjee, Dr Manas Ranjan Bhunia, Dr Shashi Panja, Snehasis Chakraborty, Birbaha Hansda, actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, Jay Prakash Majumdar, Kunal Ghosh, Deepak Adhikari (Dev), Mahua Moitra, Kirti Azad, Satabdi Roy, Partha Bhowmick and Saayoni Ghosh.
West Bengal Assembly elections will be conducted in two phases, on April 23 and April 29, with counting of votes for both phases scheduled for May 4.
As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), the last date for filing nominations for this phase is April 6, while scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 7. Candidates will be allowed to withdraw their nominations until April 9.
For the second phase, which covers 142 Assembly constituencies, the gazette notification will be issued on April 2. The last date for filing nominations is April 9, and the scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 10. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until April 13.
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