On a sultry May afternoon, Sumita Poddar, a homemaker in her early 40s, was leading a rally in Bongaon town.
The turnout was impressive for an Independent as over 2,000 people began walking with her and the numbers grew gradually. Poddar — known as a Good Samaritan in the area for her work among the Matuas — has never been into active politics, but has thrown her hat into the electoral ring from Bongaon. With a purpose.
“Our community is being cheated with the promise of citizenship...This cannot go on,” Poddar told The Telegraph.
The scenes at the rallies of the mother of three have become a bother for sitting MP Shantanu Thakur, also the head of the All India Matua Mahasangha, as Poddar has been drawing large crowds at her programmes.
Anonymous posters in Bongaon asking BJP candidate Shantanu Thakur if he has applied for citizenship. Debasish Mukherjee
Not only is she drawing Matua community members of all age groups, she is also asking pointed questions to Thakur on the complexities in the citizenship application form that the BJP had initially dangled as a carrot for the community ahead of the polls.
There is palpable disillusionment among the Matuas over the citizenship rules that the Union home ministry announced on March 11, after making the community wait for over five years.
Matuas are an independent sect that evolved from a religious reformation movement launched by Harichand Thakur (1812-1878), a farmer from the downtrodden Namasudra community from Faridpur (now in Bangladesh).
The Matuas began trickling into India “illegally” after the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 due to religious persecution. Though most of them got enrolled on the electoral rolls and got other documents like ration and Aadhaar cards, the community remained refugees according to the Citizenship Act of 2003.
The BJP has been reiterating that the CAA, passed in Parliament on December 10, 2019 — aimed at providing a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities like Matuas from neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan — would solve the pending issue.
But the rollout of the CAA provisions hasn’t been as per the BJP’s expectations with hardly anyone to be found who has applied for Indian citizenship using the portal launched by the Centre.
“What the BJP has done to us in the name of the CAA is nothing but fraud... I am telling the people not to fall for it again,” says Poddar.
Citizenship promises made by the BJP played a crucial role in the party winning two Matua-dominated seats, Bongaon and Ranaghat, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The party also bagged 13 of 14 Assembly seats in these two constituencies in 2021.
The community, regarded as the most sought-after vote bank after Muslims in Bengal, constitutes about 40 per cent of the electorate in Bongaon and Ranaghat.
While the BJP enjoys an overwhelming support base among the Matuas, Poddar has emerged as a key player in Bongaon. “Matuas wholeheartedly supported BJP in two consecutive elections. But in return, Shantanu-babu and the BJP leadership cheated the Matuas over the citizenship issue,” says Poddar.
But she is not sparing the ruling Trinamool either.
“We don’t believe in the narrative of the TMC that we are all citizens... Lack of education among a section is the reason why these parties can exploit us,” added Poddar, known as a mother figure for her social work that she has been doing under the banner of the Santihari Guruchand Matua Foundation.
Two other Matua candidates are also in the fray causing the BJP and Trinamool discomfort.
Sujata Bairagi, a Matua devotee, is fighting as an Independent while Subrata Biswas, of the Guruchand Sena Dal, is spearheading a movement demanding the CAA’s rollback.
“The penetration of these three candidates among the community would play an important role in deciding the outcome in Bongaon,” said a political observer.
Another key player in Bongaon would be BJP old-timer Arabinda Biswas, who in 2019 played a crucial role in garnering support for Shantanu.
“It is not just the lies about citizenship, rather the BJP has cheated the Matuas in every aspect. It made 11-point promises that included unconditional citizenship. But, it failed to fulfil those promises,” he said.
Before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP promised a national holiday on the birthday of Guruchand Thakur, a university as well as a medical college named after him, a framed photo installation of him in Parliament, SC status for the downtrodden namasudra, yearly stipend for the Matua gosains and dalapatis.
Arabinda Biswas, once a close aide of late Union minister Tapan Sikdar, the BJP’s first MP from Bengal, has been extensively campaigning for Poddar this time.
“It is not just a betrayal of promises. The Matuas are unhappy with Shantanu Thakur for his arrogance and corruption,” he said.
The anger among the Matuas can be seen across the constituency. Thousands of anonymous posters — with the theme “Shantanu tumi CAA form ekhono keno bharoni? (Shantanu, why haven’t you still applied for citizenship?)” — have come up across Bongaon.
Amid this heated discourse, MP Thakur appears unperturbed.
“It is true that there are certain complexities in the form. We have told the MHA to solve it. Matuas who required citizenship would begin applying with our help once the
poll is completed. We will go door-to-door to help people,” he said, swatting away theories that there would be a division in the Matua votes due to the entry of people like Poddar, Bairagi and Biswas in the contest.
“She (Poddar) will not be able to bag even 500 votes... The other two will get even fewer votes,” he said.
Trinamool sources said they are hoping for a split in the Matua votes. “There is a definite ground for resentment among the Matuas,” said Trinamool candidate Biswajit Das. “It has already been proven beyond doubt that the BJP’s citizenship promise was a hoax. People have immense faith in Mamata Banerjee and they will vote for her.”
Bongaon votes on May 20
