This March, when the government notified the CAA, there was a huge celebration in Thakurnagar. However, not many applications for citizenship have gone from Thakurbari, say sources.
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Thakurnagar: The road to the town Thakurnagar, via Habra and Bongaon South constituencies, in West Bengal’s North 24 Paragana district is dotted with congested localities, mostly unregulated refugee colonies and markets.
But this town, which is the headquarters of the Hindu minority community Matuas, has been a battleground between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress.
For the next two weeks, Thakurnagar will see major public shows by the BJP vying for the crucial votes of the Matuas who came to the state as refugees during partition.
Besides being electorally significant, the Matuas have also been part of the state’s politics over the years. Currently, it has a BJP camp and a Trinamool camp. The BJP camp, which makes up for a significant part of the community, has a primary demand citizenship.
Why Mamata and BJP are battling over this little known Bengal minority community
Matuas, who came to West Bengal during partition, are a deciding factor across 40-45 assembly constituencies in the coming state polls. They have one primary demand citizenship.
Madhuparna Das 27 December, 2020 8:00 am IST Text Size:
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Kolkata: In the fiery poll battle that is building up in West Bengal, one Hindu minority community’s demand for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is turning up the heat.
The Matuas, who came to the state as refugees during partition, are in the spotlight now given that they could be a deciding factor across 40-45 assembly constituencies.