Panchayat results show substantial erosion in Matua votes for BJP
TMC managed to secure 123 Gram Panchayats out of 185
The BJP, which had penetrated deep into the Matua belts of North 24-Parganas and Nadia after the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 with Shantanu Thakur, the Matua Mahasangha leader winning as MP from Bongaon, is in a spot of bother ahead of next year’s Parliamentary elections as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has created a significant dent on the saffron camp’s vote bank in the recently concluded Panchayat polls.
Matua’s Thakurbari in Thakurnagar had always been a stronghold for the ruling TMC ever since Mamata Banerjee came to power.
Banerjee maintains a very good relationship with Matua matriarch Boro Ma Binapani Devi who had great affection for her. However, since the last Lok Sabha elections, BJP started making inroads.
In the Lok Sabha polls, BJP also secured a Ranaghat seat dominated by Motuas. During the last Assembly elections as well, the BJP managed to get some seats under these two Parliamentary seats.
Panchayat vote results, however, show substantial erosion in BJP’s vote bank in the Motua belt of Nadia and North 24-Parganas.
TMC managed to secure 123 Gram Panchayats out of 185 in Nadia and 15 Panchayat Samitis out of 18. The ruling party retained all the Zilla Parishads in the district.
BJP tried to cash on the CAA to woo Matuas but failed. Ahead of the Panchayat polls, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raised her voice against CAA, claiming that the BJP was misleading the Matua people.
“The Matua community in the state has every right as the citizens of the country, including voting rights and all other rights and access to all social welfare schemes. Why should they not be considered as the citizens of the state?” Banerjee questioned.
