Some BJP legislators elected from Cooch Behar district demanded statehood to court the Rajbanshis on Wednesday evening at the same venue where chief minister Mamata Banerjee earlier in the day had attended the birth anniversary of the community’s icon Chila Roy.

On Wednesday, a faction of the Greater Cooch Behar Peoples’ Association (GCPA) led by Ananta Maharaj had organised the birth anniversary celebrations of Chila Roy, a member of the Cooch Behar royal family and a fierce fighter.

Mamata made a slew of announcements at the event, ranging from jobs for GCPA volunteers who call themselves Narayani Sena, a statue of Chila Roy and a community hall and a road after his name.

After Mamata left the venue, elected representatives of the saffron camp, including Union minister of state for home affairs and sports Nisith Pramanik, turned up to try and stoke sentiments of the community by raking up the statehood demand.

Pramanik told people at the venue that it was good if the state gave jobs to the GCPA supporters — Mamata promised jobs to 700-odd volunteers — but referred to old incidents when GCPA supporters had to face legal steps.

“We will never forget how the Narayani Sena members were arrested and their clothes were torn at Bagdogra as they had come to meet me. Even Ananta Maharaj had to stay away in Assam for two years and could not even attend his mother’s last rites. We are with them and want to assert that if required, we will stand for the protection of the Rajbanshi community. The movement will go on,” said the Cooch Behar MP.

He said the Centre has decided to set up a sports hub in the district, but so far, the state had not made any arrangement for 25 acres needed.

While the minister spoke obliquely, two of his party MLAs, Malati Rava of Tufanganj and Baren Roy of Sitalkuchi, openly demanded the “state” of Cooch Behar and north Bengal.

“We want a separate Cooch Behar state, a separate north Bengal state for the interest of the Rajbanshi community. We also want the life and works of Chila Roy to be included in the school syllabus across the country,” said Rava.

Earlier, John Barla, the BJP MP of the neighbouring Alipurduar district, who is the Union minister of state for minority affairs, had demanded a state to be carved out of north Bengal. It led to mixed reactions in the saffron camp, with some backing it and some not.

On Wednesday, Roy, the Sitalkuchi MLA, was the second speaker to advocate statehood. “We want a separate Cooch Behar state where there would be no misrule,” he said.

Such assertions from the BJP legislators are a part of the party’s strategy to retain the Rajbanshi vote bank, said political observers. They said while Mamata played the development card, the BJP is continuing to stir sentiments of the Rajbanshi community.

In north Bengal, Rajbanshis decide the results of around half of 54 Assembly seats.