Selim Meets Humayun Lonely: Latest CPM bent

Jan 30, 2026 - By Ashutosh Roy Current AffairsPolitics

Key Highlights

1. Selim meets Humayun in a secret meeting, triggering political controversy in West Bengal.
2. The meeting raises serious questions about CPI(M)’s secular ideology and political consistency.
3. Humayun Kabir’s past statements make the meeting highly sensitive and polarizing.
4. CPI(M) leadership was allegedly kept in the dark, fueling internal unease.
5. Social media backlash erupted after the meeting was exposed by a journalist.
6. Critics see the move as minority appeasement, not pragmatic politics.
7. Loyal CPI(M) workers express anger and disappointment over the secrecy.
8. The episode gains significance as Bengal heads toward the 2026 Assembly election.

Selim Meets Humayun Sparks Secularism Debate

Mohammed Selim meets Humayun Kabir. The meeting has become headline grabber.

Any two independent citizens can meet anywhere. Indian democracy gives them that right. However, the identities of Selim and Humayun go far beyond private individuals. Both are political figures and public personalities.

Moreover, Mohammed Selim is the West Bengal State Secretary of the CPI(M), a party that proudly claims secular values. On the other hand, Humayun Kabir’s politics revolves almost entirely around Muslim appeasement.

Not only does he provoke Muslim sentiments by talking about building a Babri Mosque in Murshidabad.

Humayun Kabir is also infamous for saying that Murshidabad has 70% Muslims and 30% Hindus, and that those Hindus could be cut down and thrown into the Bhagirathi river.

That same Humayun Kabir is now in a meeting with Md. Selim, the State Secretary of CPI(M).

Importantly, Selim meets Humayun in complete secrecy. Neither of them wanted the meeting to become public. The issue surfaced only because a journalist from ABP Ananda noticed it. Since then, social media has been flooded with criticism.

Secularism and Ironclad Ideology: What CPI(M) Are We Talking About?

This raises a serious question. What kind of CPI(M) is this?

The CPI(M) that always fought and boasted about secularism is now facing allegations of selective minority appeasement through Selim.
But Bengal’s political history tells a different story.

No one ever dared to question the secular credentials of Jyoti Basu, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Subhash Chakraborty, Biman Bose, or Muzaffar Ahmed. This is the same CPI(M) whose iron-clad ideological discipline was often criticized.

This party expelled Somnath Chatterjee, a former Lok Sabha Speaker, under Prakash Karat’s leadership. The issue was ideological and could raise acrimonious debatable. Somnath argued that a Speaker stands above party lines.

The Karat lobby insisted he must obey the party whip and vote against the nuclear deal.

This CPI(M) also expelled Saifuddin Choudhury because he said BJP was a bigger enemy than Congress. When he was denied the Prime Ministerial post, he later called it a “historical blunder.” Younger leaders harshly criticized a founding leader of the party at the Kolkata Party Congress.

The party even took action against Achyutanand and expelled former Tripura Chief Minister Nripen Chakraborty. In short, CPI(M) never compromised on ideology.

Md. Selim Meets Humayun Kabir: Who is Selim

Selim is a minority CPI(M) leader and a close aide of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Buddhadeb once instructed him over the phone from Delhi not to oppose the Trinamool Congress jointly in Parliament.

As CPI(M) continues to decline electorally, the party perhaps tried to regain relevance by projecting a minority face in leadership. Even now, Selim shows no hesitation in taking action against Tanmay Bhattacharya.

Yet under Mohammed Selim’s tenure, CPI(M) continues to weaken. There is no visible sign of revival.

Selim has contested elections multiple times. He became an MLA and MP during the Left’s golden era. He is a good speaker. However, even his close aides may not call him a strong organizer.

He appears mostly on television debates. Meanwhile, young leaders like Satarup, Indrajit, Minakshi, Aishi, Koustav are emerging strongly during this crisis period. Still, Selim fails to energize the organization.

Is sharpening the “BJEMUL theory” enough to win votes? After the massive fire in Anandapur, did anyone see Mohammed Selim on the ground? Anandapur was once a CPI(M) stronghold.

Another pattern is hard to ignore. Whenever elections approach, Selim contests from seats he finds convenient. He sends Minakshi to Nandigram to fight Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari, while he himself contests from Murshidabad with Congress support.

Clearly, he wants to move from the post of state secretary into parliamentary politics.

Why This Selim Meets Humayun Raises Alarms

Against this background, Selim meets Humayun at a New Town hotel. This meeting may not be accidental. It could be about finding a “safe seat” for Selim in Murshidabad. This was not a private meeting.

Earlier, leaders like Prakash Karat, Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Sitaram Yechury, and even Jyoti Basu met leaders of other parties. But they never kept the party in the dark. Here lies the problem.

On the day of the Babri Mosque inauguration in Murshidabad, Humayun Kabir claimed that Mohammed Selim had called him. Later that evening, CPI(M) spokespersons tried repeatedly to deny it on ABP Ananda’s debate show. That denial itself confirms that Selim did make the call,  without the party’s knowledge. This secrecy creates suspicion.

Reliable sources say this was their third meeting. When a party leader uses his official position to fulfill personal aspiration, the party suffers. Naturally, discussions and criticism are now dominating newspapers and social media.

Timeline of the Meeting: 2026 Bengal Election Ahead

Timeline plays the pivotal role in political landscape. We are at a moment when

• West Bengal Assembly Election is knocking at the door
• CPI(M) is leaving no stone unturned to gain the foothold
• BJP’s unrelenting toil to consolidate Hindu Votes has become quiet visible
• An array of losses in election has frustrated the cadres and the voters also. So, The Voters of CPI(M) have started shifting to BJP
• Bengal’s dissent to competitive polarization has been declining
• Anarchy has cast his far reaching tentacles in all spheres of life in West Bengal
• The Identity Politics rules the roost in West Bengal
• The Combined vote share of BJP and TMC has been remaining in the vicinity of 85-90% of Vote Share
• The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Voter list has created a turmoil in West Bengal politics
• CPI(M) should restrain from any activity that may erupt political slugfest

Pragmatism or Ideological Collapse?

Some people are calling this pragmatic politics. But for an ideology-driven party like CPI(M), with many capable young leaders rising, what message does this send?

Does secularism mean Muslim appeasement? Does it mean being strict only with Hindus?

CPI(M) routinely accuses Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress of minority appeasement. Before the 2021 elections, Selim’s enthusiasm over ISF had even annoyed Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury, forcing Biman Bose to intervene.

Although ISF claims to be secular, reports said it first wanted an alliance with Trinamool Congress. Only after seat-sharing talks failed did it join the Left-Congress alliance.

So today, when Selim meets Humayun Kabir, does it truly project secular values? If politics must follow realism, then why not a united opposition alliance in West Bengal Assembly Election 2026? Why keep BJP untouchable, especially when there is a history of fighting elections together?

A Painful Moment for secularism Before West Bengal Election 2026

Md. Selim meets Humayun Kabir is not just news. It is deeply painful for thousands of loyal CPI(M) workers and supporters who are still standing by the party.

Will Md. Selim remember the dignity of his position? Will the CPI(M) leadership in Delhi take action against him?

The public is watching closely. And with the 2026 elections approaching, this meeting may have consequences far beyond a hotel room in New Town.

Question to the Junior Brigade of CPI(M)

• Is Md. Selim’s Sudden Political Move Driven by Fear of Irrelevance in Bengal Politics?
• Election or Organisation? Is CPI(M)’s Party President Chasing Power Instead of Rebuilding the Party?
• Do the Faces of CPI(M)’s 34-Year Rule Still Haunt West Bengal Voters?
• Alliance with ISF and Humayun Kabir: Is CPI(M) Diluting Its Core Secular Identity?
• Why Are Young, Popular Leaders Still Sidelined in CPI(M)’s Power Structure?
• Meenakshi, Satarup, Srijan Ignored: Is CPI(M) Afraid of Generational Change?