JUP chief Humayun Kabir.
Credit: X/ @humayunaitc
Kolkata: JUP founder Humayun Kabir on Tuesday dropped Nisha Chatterjee as the Ballygunge candidate for the 2026 assembly elections in West Bengal, stating that her photos and videos on social media do not go well for his party's image.
Kabir, who was suspended by the TMC earlier this month over his plan to build a Babri-style mosque in Murshidabad, had on Monday floated the Janata Unnayan Party (JUP) and named candidates for eight seats, including Ballygunge in south Kolkata.
"I have seen some of Nisha's photos and reels on social media, and after seeing those, I feel she should not be the candidate of our party. It will send a wrong message to the people. I have every right to take this decision," he said.
Kabir said a new female candidate will be announced for the Ballygunge seat, hinting that she could be a Muslim.
Chatterjee, however, said she was dropped by the party as she was a Hindu.
"Suddenly, there are discussions about my videos. People around me are saying all kinds of things. Humayun 'kaku' (uncle) had initially asked me to be a candidate, and that is how I became one. Now, he is saying different things, casting aspersion on me," she said.
"I have been dropped because I am a Hindu. If his party was secular, would this have happened? I stood by his Babri Masjid plan. Then why did he do this to me?" she asked.
Chatterjee said she was "facing social embarrassment" due to the incident and may take legal action.
The TMC had suspended Kabir, the MLA of Bharatpur, on December 4 after his announcement to build a Babri-style mosque triggered a massive row.
On December 6, the day the Babri Masjid was razed in Ayodhya in 1992, a defiant Kabir laid the foundation stone for the mosque at Rejinagar, creating a dust-up in state politics with elections due in less than six months.