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The CPI(M), which ruled West Bengal for 34 years, saw its state secretary visiting a hotel to meet the leader of a party that is not even a month old.
According to sources, the discussion between the two leaders lasted for over an hour. (Image: PTI)
On January 28 at 8:30 am, a meeting was held at a five-star hotel in New Town, Kolkata, between Humayun Kabir — an expelled Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and now chief of the newly formed Janata Unnayan Party — and Md Salim, the state secretary of the CPI(M).
The meeting has raised eyebrows across political circles, as the CPI(M), which ruled West Bengal for 34 years, saw its state secretary visiting a hotel to meet the leader of a party that is not even a month old. The development appears particularly striking given the CPI(M)’s long-standing projection of itself as a secular, anti-communal, and ideologically rigid party.
This backdrop makes the meeting with Humayun Kabir — who remains a controversial figure and is associated with the construction of the Babri Masjid — all the more contentious. According to sources, the discussion between the two leaders lasted for over an hour.
The CPI(M)’s alliance strategy also remains unclear. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the party entered into seat adjustments with the Congress and the minority-dominated Indian Secular Front (ISF), a move that failed to deliver electoral gains. Against this context, Md Salim’s meeting with Humayun Kabir has sparked debate on whether it reflects a deterioration of the Left’s political standing in the state.
Speaking to News18 after the meeting, Humayun Kabir said, “It was a very positive discussion. I am sure there will be some alliance with the CPI(M) and the Left. Basically, I want all parties that are anti-BJP and anti-TMC to come together and fight them. I am 90 per cent sure something good will happen.”
Md Salim, however, downplayed the speculation, stating that the meeting was only an attempt to understand Humayun Kabir’s intentions and political thinking. “It was merely to understand his mind,” the CPI(M) state secretary said.
The meeting has triggered two major questions. First, what compelled such a large and established party to reach out to the chief of a newly formed political outfit? Second, how will the CPI(M) — which has consistently claimed to keep religion out of politics — justify engaging with a leader associated with religious construction activities to its core supporters?
Reacting sharply, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “I have nothing to say about who is meeting whom. What I can say is — what is the condition of the Left? Have they become political beggars, going around holding such meetings everywhere? Sometimes they go to the Congress, sometimes to the ISF. They don’t even have the calibre to field candidates in all 294 Assembly seats.”
Whether this interaction leads to a seat adjustment or a formal alliance remains to be seen. However, the meeting has undeniably intensified the debate over the CPI(M)’s weakening position and political relevance in West Bengal.
January 29, 2026, 13:59 IST
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