“I apologise to the people of Rejinagar from all walks of life. In the near future, I will step away from politics and everything else,” Kabir said. He alleged that votes had been “looted” and that his party’s polling agents were prevented from sitting at booths. He also accused the police and administration of helping the BJP.
“I could not protest when votes were being looted. So, what was the point? I will seek the opinion of the people of Naoda. If they give me permission, I might even resign as an MLA and quit active politics,” he said.
Kabir was detained by police for around 12 hours on polling day after repeated confrontations with officers. Following his release, he alleged that he had been detained because the BJP knew it would lose the election. On Wednesday, he remained defiant, directing his anger at the state government and the police.
“I loathe a democratic framework where a police officer holding the rank of sub-inspector can forcibly pick up an elected MLA and detain him for 12 hours. I will also stay away from this police minister, Suvendu Adhikari,” he said.
Kabir also declared that he would not attend the Assembly while Adhikari remained chief minister. At another point, however, he suggested that he might attend sessions but would stay away whenever the chief minister was present.
The BJP, meanwhile, dismissed Kabir’s emotional appeal. BJP MLA Sajal Ghosh accused him of shedding “crocodile tears” and said, “This is Humayun Kabir’s dishonesty. I appeal to the people of Bengal not to be misled by these crocodile tears.”
Kabir’s political journey has taken him through the Congress, the TMC and the BJP before he returned to the Trinamool camp and eventually formed the AJUP. His controversial pledge to build a Babri Masjid propelled him into the spotlight and helped consolidate his image among sections of the Muslim electorate. Even while threatening to retire from politics, he reiterated his commitment to the mosque project.
During the 2026 Assembly election, his party’s performance in Murshidabad became a point of contention, with opponents arguing that the AJUP drew Muslim votes away from the TMC and indirectly benefited the BJP. Kabir has denied that he was deliberately splitting the anti-BJP vote.
