Politics often produces strange ironies. West Bengal politics may have delivered one of its most striking examples yet.
A man who was once expelled from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), went on to become one of Mamata Banerjee’s fiercest critics and openly campaigned against her government, is now offering to help the former Chief Minister return to the West Bengal Assembly.
Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) founder Humayun Kabir has publicly declared that he is willing to vacate his Rejinagar Assembly seat if Mamata Banerjee wants to contest from there and return to the legislature.
His message was direct.
“If Mamata Banerjee comes to me, I can send her to the Assembly from Rejinagar. If she contests from Nandigram, she will not win. But if she wants, I will resign and ensure her victory from my constituency.”
The statement has instantly triggered political speculation, not merely because of what Kabir offered, but because of who offered it.
From trusted lieutenant to TMC rebel
For years, Humayun Kabir was considered one of the influential Muslim faces of the Trinamool Congress in Murshidabad.
However, his relationship with the party leadership deteriorated amid growing differences. The fallout eventually led to his expulsion from the party.
What followed was an open rebellion.
Kabir launched the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) and repeatedly targeted the TMC leadership. During the Assembly election campaign, he positioned himself as an alternative to both the ruling establishment and traditional opposition forces in parts of Murshidabad.
More importantly, he openly called for the removal of the Mamata Banerjee government.
A defeat that changed Bengal politics
The offer comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Mamata Banerjee.
The 2026 Assembly election proved to be one of the biggest setbacks of her political career, with the BJP emerging victorious and ending the TMC’s long dominance over Bengal politics.
The defeat has left the party grappling with internal dissent, leadership questions and an uncertain future.
Several leaders have either distanced themselves from the party or begun exploring alternative political options. Reports of factionalism and rebellion within the organisation have only deepened the crisis.
Against this backdrop, Mamata Banerjee faces another challenge: returning to the Assembly and re-establishing her political authority.
And it is here that Humayun Kabir has stepped in with an offer few would have imagined just a year ago.
Why Rejinagar matters
Kabir emerged as one of the winners in Murshidabad during the Assembly elections.
He won from both Nowda and Rejinagar constituencies, demonstrating his continued influence despite leaving the TMC.
Since a candidate cannot retain two Assembly seats, Kabir will eventually have to vacate one of them, triggering a by-election.
He now says that seat could be used to facilitate Mamata Banerjee’s return.
The offer carries an implicit political message as well.
Kabir believes Mamata Banerjee would struggle in Nandigram, a constituency that has become politically symbolic after her high-profile defeat there.
“If she contests from Nandigram, she will not win.”
His suggestion is clear: avoid a risky battle and choose Rejinagar instead.
The political irony
The irony is difficult to miss.
The leader who once accused the TMC of failing Bengal, broke away from Mamata Banerjee’s party, built his own political platform and contributed to the erosion of the TMC’s influence in parts of Murshidabad is now offering to rescue his former boss from political uncertainty.
For Mamata Banerjee, accepting such an offer would also come with political optics.
Would the leader who once presided over Kabir’s exit from the TMC be willing to return to the Assembly through a seat vacated by him?
Would accepting the offer be seen as political pragmatism or an acknowledgement that old rivals have become necessary allies?
These questions are likely to dominate Bengal’s political discourse in the coming weeks.
Kabir also made another pointed observation.
“Nobody may listen to her now, but in Rejinagar, Humayun Kabir is the final word.”
Will Mamata take the offer?
That remains the central question.
Politically, the offer could provide a relatively straightforward path back to the Assembly.
Symbolically, however, it would require Mamata Banerjee to accept help from a leader who not long ago was campaigning against her party and seeking its defeat.
Yet even by those standards, the image of Humayun Kabir, once expelled from the TMC, later a rebel challenger, and now an unlikely benefactor, offering Mamata Banerjee a seat in the Assembly stands out as one of the most remarkable twists in West Bengal’s post-election politics.
The offer is on the table.
Whether Mamata Banerjee chooses to accept it is another matter altogether.
