BJP retains Matua stronghold despite SIR cuts, CAA worries

Kolkata: Despite discontent within the Matua community over large-scale deletions from the electoral roll under SIR, and the subsequent issue of citizenship certificates under CAA, BJP retained its foothold in Bongaon and Nadia. The party also captured the Matua-dominated Bagdah seat with a landslide victory after losing it in the last Assembly by-election.

The Matua community, which had backed the saffron party since the 2019 LS polls, appeared to have consolidated behind it again, helping BJP retain Gaighata, Bagdah, Bongaon Uttar, Bongaon Dakshin, Haringhata and Kalyani, with candidates leading by substantial margins.



The politically crucial Matua community is a marginalised Hindu sect, primarily comprising the Namasudra Scheduled Caste group. The Bongaon subdivision and Nadia, home to large Matua refugee settlements, comprised people displaced from districts like Noakhali, Barishal, Satkhira, Gopalganj, Pabna, Khulna and Kushtia in present-day Bangladesh. For many, the SIR exclusion triggered deep anxieties over identity and belonging.

According to sources, a sweeping purge of the electoral roll under SIR triggered sharp political and social fault lines in Matua-dominated constituencies in North 24 Parganas and Nadia, with over 1.2 lakh names struck off.

In the Nadia constituencies of Krishnanagar North, Krishnanagar South, Ranaghat North West, Ranaghat North East and Ranaghat South, over 90% of those placed under adjudication failed to make it to the final roll. A comparable pattern was observed across all six assembly segments in Bongaon, where deletions ranged between 67% and 88%.

Bagdah emerged as the stage for a high-voltage battle featuring members of the influential Thakurbari family at Thakurnagar in Bongaon. The contest drew widespread attention across the Matua heartland as BJP candidate Soma Thakur, wife of junior Union minister and BJP's Bongaon MP Shantanu Thakur, took on Trinamool MLA Madhuparna Thakur, her sister-in-law. Soma won by 34,321 votes. "We will form the govt, and all facilities and benefits for the Matua community will be ensured," she said.

BJP's Bongaon Uttar candidate Ashoke Kirtaniya won the seat for the second time by nearly 25,000 votes. Ashim Sarkar, the Haringhata BJP candidate, won by 22,217 votes. "With this win, the citizenship of every Matua has been ensured," said Shantanu Thakur, who is the BJP-led All India Matua Mahasangha Sanghadhipati.

Political observers suggested that identity-driven support and long-standing affiliations outweighed immediate concerns related to electoral roll revisions for the Matua electorate.