A new political party has emerged ahead of the Lok Sabha polls with the old demand of a north Bengal state as its principal agenda.
The Bhumiputra United Party, which obtained a registration from the Election Commission of India in January, has decided to field candidates in all eight Parliament seats in north Bengal and claims to represent various communities in the region.
“We have put the word ‘Bhumiputra’ in the name of our party to prove that it is a political force which represents the sons of this soil. We have people from various communities and want to strive to fulfil our longstanding demand of a separate north Bengal state which can only expedite the development of this region and the people living here,” said Mohammad Sarwardi, president of the party who is from Itahar of North Dinajpur.
According to him, the party has representatives of Rajbanshis, non-Rajbanshi Hindus, Muslims, Namasudra, Matua, tribal and Lepcha communities.
“No prominent political party has done anything for the socio-economic development of north Bengal. While some have made hollow promises to meet our demands, others have resorted to dole politics. It is because of economic backwardness that thousands of people from north Bengal have turned into migrant workers. We have got the registration from the ECI and will field candidates in all eight Lok Sabha seats,” said Ramesh Chandra Singha, the party’s general secretary who is from Karandighi of North Dinajpur.
Anowar Hossain, the state convener of the Bhumiputra United Party, said the outfit would hold a meeting in Mathabhanga on Sunday.
“We have formed a 115-member central committee and a central secretariat of 31 members. In Mathabhanga, we will form district committees. In the Lok Sabha polls, we will field candidates of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and general communities,” said Hossain, who is based in Cooch Behar.
A few years ago, political fragmentation was witnessed in the region as a number of new regional parties emerged in the hills.
“However, across north Bengal, no new political party was formed in recent years. The new party claims to have representatives of different communities whose votes matter in different Lok Sabha seats in the region. We need to wait to know whether the party’s presence will have any impact on the polls,” said a political observer.