There is a saying down the villages that “gaon basa nahin, lutere pahunch gaye” (even before the village was inhabited, dacoits have arrived). Nowadays it’s applicable on our elections too. Still months to go for the announcement of polls in West Bengal, spoilers are visible on the horizons. The role of spoilers in ensuring the NDA win is a well-established reality witnessed in recent Bihar polls. 

Humayun Kabir, a Trinamool MLA, is a case study. Within 48 hours of his suspension by the TMC leadership, he announced the launch of a new political party that will contest 135 seats of 294 assembly constituencies. His “concern” is that since chief minister Mamta Banerjee and her TMC can’t defeat BJP, so he decided to defeat the national ruling party with the help of Asaduddin Owaisi (another perpetual spoiler). 

He was suspended from the TMC after proposing to build a replica of the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad, West Bengal, a move that sparked significant political controversy. In response. Kabir asserts that his new party will focus on Muslim interests, aiming to become a "game-changer" in the state's politics. He claims that his move is intended to block both the Trinamool and the BJP from forming the next government. 

Furthermore, he stated that various industries and the Muslim community across India would provide substantial funds to help build the replica mosque. The Trinamool suspended him citing its "secular theory," while the BJP has strongly condemned his actions, calling them an attempt to create communal tensions and polarization ahead of the 2026 polls.

The controversy is particularly significant because Muslims who constitute about 30% of electorate, are key vote bank for Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, a party that has been actively working to counter the growing influence of the BJP in the state. The BJP, which emerged as a formidable opposition force in the 2021 elections, views the mosque row as a great opportunity to capitalise on Hindu polarisation. The political maneuvering highlights the delicate balance of communal and electoral politics in Bengal.

Kabir’s foundation-laying event for the 'Babri mosque' on Saturday saw a massive turnout, with the MLA claiming “eight lakh participants” and a flood of donations in the form of cash and bricks from Murshidabad, Malda, and other districts. Participants viewed the effort variously—some as a symbolic response to the 1992 demolition of the original Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, and others as a protest against long  Trinamool rule. Critics, however, see into it a sure political opportunity for the BJP and its leadership to create anti-Muslim sentiments among the majority community in 2026 polls.