Identity politics has become the flavour of the season in north Bengal ahead of the Assembly elections as both the Trinamul Congress and the BJP are leaving no stone unturned to woo Rajbanshis through a series of announcements and initiatives in remembrance of Panchanan Barma, the most revered social reformer of the community.
The reason behind the reachout attempt is simple. The Rajbanshi population spread across Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and North Dinajpur districts is a decisive factor in around half of the 54 Assembly constituencies in north Bengal.
In the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the BJP had managed to perform exceptionally well in the Rajbanshi-dominated belts of north Bengal and won seven of the eight Parliament seats in the region.