Newly-elected Trinamul MLA from Bagda Madhuparna Thakur on Saturday night broke open a lock, allegedly put by her cousin and junior Union minister Shantanu Thakur, to regain the occupation of her home in Thakurnagar after over three months.

On the night of April 7, Shantanu with the support of a section of the All India Matua Mahasangha, allegedly evicted Madhuparna and her mother — Trinamul Rajya Sabha member Mamata Bala Thakur — from their Thakurnagar home, and put a lock preventing their access to the building. Matua matriarch “Boroma” Binapani Debi (grandmother to both Shantanu and Madhuparna) had once lived at the building.

Shantanu accused Mamata Bala of illegally occupying the “holy” premises and denying access for devotees to the building, which they demanded to convert into a “heritage property”.

Mamata Bala complained to the Gaighata police station against the BJP’s Bongaon MP Shantanu and 13 others, accusing them of grabbing her property. The incident sparked a legal battle with both sides moving court.

To condemn her eviction, Madhuparna had staged a demonstration in front of
the building in May, which Trinamul insiders said caused an impact among Matua voters.

On Saturday, a little after returning to Thakurnagar following her by-poll win, Madhuparna, along with jubilant Trinamul supporters, broke open the lock and retook possession of the house.

“This has nothing to do with the election results. I took possession based on the ACJM Bongaon’s order,” said Madhuparna, 25, who is the state’s youngest MLA now after defeating BJP candidate Binoy Biswas by 33,455 votes.

“It is exclusively a family issue and I fought for my right, which the court has ensured in my favour,” she added.

However, Madhuparna couldn’t produce any such court order.

Madhuparna’s cousin Shantanu heads the pro-BJP faction of the All India Matua Mahasangha. Her mother Mamata Bala is the chief patron of the pro-Trinamul faction of the same organisation.

Shantanu and Mamata Bala have been at loggerheads over the family’s internal feud for a long which turned ugly given the political differences between the two. The problem intensified further with the Matuas getting divided into two groups, with the major part at present leaning towards Shantanu for its association with the BJP, while Trinamool is trying hard to retain its support base.

“Shantanu used his position to evict us and put a lock. But today the Matua devotees who also love us have broken the lock to reinstate us according to the court order. The results of Bagda also indicate that Matuas are not with Shantanu anymore,” Mamata Bala said.

“I began to stay in the house in 1985 as the daughter-in-law of Boroma (after getting married to her elder, deceased son Kapilkrishna Thakur). After she died in 2019, I continued to stay here. But Shantanu and his family have been trying to evict us,” she added.

Reacting to the allegations, Shantanu said: “The building is a holy place to which devotees also have rights to access. But unfortunately, Mamata Bala Thakur kept it occupied using her position despite the devotees’ demand to make it a heritage place for prayers.”

“Legal action will be initiated against the illegal occupation of the building,” he added.