The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) suffered a jolt in West Bengal as a number of leaders joined the Trinamool Congress on Monday.
This came on a day Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee proposed to double the honorarium to priests in the State.
AIMIM leader Anwar Pasha and a number of his colleagues joined the ruling party in the presence of Trinamool leaders and Ministers Bratya Basu and Malay Ghatakat at the party headquarters in Kolkata.
“Those who joined the Trinamool today are from different parts of the State and have joined the secular and inclusive politics of Mamata Banerjee,” Mr. Basu said.
The setback to the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party comes at a time when speculation is rife over the role AIMIM will play in the upcoming Assembly election in the State. Muslims comprise about 27.01% of the total population of the State as per 2011 Census and have largely voted in the favour of the Trinamool Congress in the past decade.
After joining the Trinamool, Mr. Pasha described the development in Bihar as “very disturbing”.
