With eyes on the upcoming polls next year, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is gearing up to contest the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls to fight in all 294 seats.

Claiming to have a considerably strong footprint in the Muslim belts of the state, the party leaders in West Bengal today introduced a mobile number for citizens willing to acquire party membership by giving a missed call. Alongside the heated debates on Waqf Bill in the Parliament by the AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, the Hyderabad-based party has now raised the issue of Waqf properties in West Bengal. Raising questions as to why the state government is sitting silently over the Waqf issue, the local leaders alleged that the maximum encroachment of the Waqf properties was observed in the state.

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As claimed by the state leader of AIMIM in the state, Imran Solanki, the party has around three lakh members unofficially in West Bengal. The party is now aiming to expand its footprints in the state Assembly polls putting efforts to field candidates in as many seats as it could. “Our preparations are on for all the 294 seats. How many seats we would contest is yet to be decided. But AIMIM is strong in West Bengal,” asserted the state leader, Imran Solanki.

Buoyed by its performance in the last panchayat polls, this time the Owaisi-led AIMIM has launched a scathing attack on the ruling party in the state. “If the state government wants votes from the Muslims, Adivasis and Dalits, it will have to reveal about the Waqf Board properties, disclosing how much money is received and what amount is saved,” said Mr Solanki during a Press conference today.

Slamming the Trinamul Congress for not establishing a university in Murshidabad till now, the AIMIM leader said: “The government is being formed with a large percentage of Muslim votes but nothing is being done for the welfare of the members of the community.” Another party member claimed, “We are not here to bring defeat or victory to anyone. Our aim is to improve the healthcare, education and other institutional systems in West Bengal.