The Trinamul Congress leadership in north Bengal has launched an initiative to woo Rajbanshi Muslims at a time the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) was planning to field candidates in some Assembly seats.

Omprakash Mishra, a Trinamul leader who had been camping here for the past few days and holding talks with party leaders and different organisations, urged the Nasya Sheikh community (Rajbanshi Muslims) to stand in support of Mamata Banerjee and her party to prevent the AIMIM from dividing the minority votes.

“The AIMIM has planned to contest the Assembly elections. The party has a tacit understanding with the BJP and the RSS. The Muslims of Bengal will have to realise it and all of us will have to take necessary steps in this regard. The chief minister has done a lot for Muslims and we have to apprise them of the developmental initiatives taken by the state government,” said Mishra.

He was speaking at a meeting of the Jalpaiguri district committee of Uttarbanga Nasya Sheikh Unnayan Mancha.

Ever since AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has announced that his party will field candidates in Bengal, Trinamul has started drawing strategies to retain the support of minorities that has helped the party win in a number of elections over the years.

Earlier, Trinamul had strengthened its minority cell in districts like Malda, North Dinajpur and Jalpaiguri but this is the first time that leaders of the party have started reaching out to organisations representing Muslims.

In his speech, Mishra also blamed the Left Front and the Congress for the BJP’s emergence in the state.

“In the Lok Sabha elections (of 2019), BJP managed to increase its vote share from 10 per cent to 40 per cent. This is because votes from the Left and Congress went to the BJP. A few months are left for the Assembly elections and it is time that we take all steps to prevent erosion of minority votes,” the Trinamul leader said.

At the meeting, Mishra reiterated that soon, the Nasya Sheikh community would have a development board of its own.

A few weeks back, when chief minister Mamata Banerjee was in Cooch Behar, she had promised that the state would look into the demand raised by them.

In the Rajbanshi-dominated belts of north Bengal, Nasya Sheikhs comprise around 30 per cent of the total population.

Political observers said it was obvious that Trinamul did not want to take any chance, particularly because a substantial portion of the Rajbanshi votes had gone to the BJP in the 2019 general election.