Bengal CPM secretary Md Salim met Humayun Kabir, who had recently launched the Janata Unnayan Party and started the initiative to construct a Babri Masjid in Murdishabad district, without the knowledge of the Left party's state secretariat, on Wednesday evening, triggering sharp questions over the former's intent and political messaging ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections
The unease in the CPM centres around apprehensions of a possible electoral truck with Kabir, who had joined the BJP and the Trinamool Congress in the past. There are fears within a section of the Left that any engagement with the communal figure could erode whatever fragments remained of the CPM’s traditional support base, particularly among Hindu voters.
After the meeting became public, a visibly uncomfortable Salim told television journalists that he had gone to “understand (Kabir's) mind”. This explanation, however, has failed to satisfy his critics within the Left. They argue that Kabir’s political position is already well known.
“When his (Kabir's) line is so clear and so fundamentally at odds with the CPM’s ideological position, why was there a need to understand his mind, or body, or any other part of him in a one-on-one meeting in a hotel room? Most obscene!” said a senior Left leader.
"That too after Salim was one of the fiercest, most unsparing critics of the neo-Babri Masjid initiative," he added.
On social media, the Salim-Kabir meeting drew reactions even from figures associated with the Left’s cultural sphere.
The meeting took place on the very day the CPM state secretariat met, without any prior intimation or discussion within the collective leadership. Several CPM leaders have privately questioned why the party secretary himself needed to hold a one-on-one meeting, and why it could not have been placed before the state secretariat.
“Why did the secretary have to go himself? Why couldn’t it be discussed within the party first? What was so secret?” asked a state secretariat member.
Supporters of Salim have pushed back against the criticism, accusing his detractors of clinging to a rigid, bureaucratic style of functioning.
A CPM state secretariat member close to Salim said on condition of anonymity: “It was just a very casual meeting. No decision was taken. There is no ideological compromise involved. Everything cannot always be done in a formal, documented manner. This was an informal, strategic discussion, nothing more.”
Kabir has been actively leading the foundation and fundraising for a neo-Babri Masjid in Murshidabad, an initiative that has drawn heavy security arrangements and sharp political reactions. He floated the new party, signalling his willingness to explore alliances beyond Trinamool, after Mamata Banerjee had suspended him from Trinamool (for the second time since 2013).
Salim defended himself on Thursday afternoon, saying the meeting was held to understand certain issues that had emerged in the state.
Salim's loyalists argue that he was attempting to break the CPM’s prolonged electoral stagnation. According to them, if the CPM is to move beyond its ‘zero’ phase, it will have to do so in districts like Malda and Murshidabad, where ground realities often compel local leaders to navigate complex social pressures.
Leaders at Alimuddin Street privately admit that during the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the controversial mosque, several CPM workers in those districts were forced to participate under local pressure.
At the same time, a significant section of the CPM warns that the fallout of the meeting was already being felt in refugee-dominated areas. “We have held processions on international issues like Palestine or Venezuela, or Iran, but barely 20 people turn up. But when we organise rallies against attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, hundreds join. This is the ground reality, and leaders like Salim must factor that in,” a CPM leader said.
Clarifying his position further, Salim said there had been no discussion about an alliance. "I asked what he (Kabir) wants to do and what he plans to do. There was some discussion about a possible seat agreement. He has formed a new political party, so it is necessary to understand his goals and objectives."
Humayun Kabir
Salim added: An alliance does not happen overnight. We have the Left Front, and nothing is decided without discussion with our partners.”
“It is the people of Bengal who want all anti-BJP forces to come together. We are against division on religious lines and want to unite people against both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress.”
Kabir expressed satisfaction after the meeting and hinted at a possible future alignment.
“Salim is a senior leader of the state and a comrade. We had discussions in a cordial atmosphere. These things cannot be spoken about openly right now. There was talk about completing the alliance process quickly, possibly by February 15. I requested Salim Babu to understand our position and also to speak to others. What does the ISF want? What does the Left Front want? I have asked him to look into that,” he said.
The BJP has chosen to watch from the sidelines. Senior BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar said: “We are eagerly waiting to see who eventually joins whom....”
Congress working committee member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury declined to be drawn into the debate, saying: “At the moment, we are not concerned about who is tying up with whom.”
Trinamool state general secretary Kunarl Ghosh said the CPM had been reduced to paupery, and was out with a begging bowl for alliances, and willing for parleys even with an avowedly communal force that formed a party weeks ago.