Wheels of the “rath” or the tableaux taken out by the BJP for its Parivartan Yatra in north Bengal came to a halt a day ahead of its schedule in Malda on Monday as it did not move into minority-dominated areas of the district.

Although state and district BJP leaders attributed the yatra’s abrupt halt to their preoccupation with arrangements for Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s public meeting scheduled for Tuesday, there were indications that the lukewarm response to the “rath” spurred the decision.

On February 11, Union home minister Amit Shah had flagged off the yatra from Cooch Behar. The tableau, BJP insiders said, was supposed to visit all 12 Assembly constituencies in Malda from February 27 to March 2.

As the “rath” arrived in the district, it moved through the constituencies of Habibpur and Malda, the Assembly segments which have a concentration of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.

On Sunday, it went to Englishbazar, Sujapur and Baishnabnagar Assembly segments and on Monday, the tableaux was supposed to move to areas like Ratua, Harischandrapur, Chanchal and Malatipur, where voters of minority communities is close to 60 per cent. However, leaders of the saffron camp decided to suspend the yatra on Monday.

“All senior BJP leaders of Malda are busy with preparations for Yogi Adityanath’s meeting and it was tough to engage them in the yatra. That is why it was called off on Monday,” said Sayantan Basu, a state general secretary of the BJP.

Although Basu came up with such a clarification, party insiders said the lukewarm response that the yatra had received in most areas of Malda where it went led to such a decision.

According to them, even when the tableaux went into areas where there is concentration of scheduled castes, tribals and other communities, the response was minimal.

“This had left us wondering whether there would be any response from locals in the minority-dominated areas. In fact, there was an apprehension that it would turn out to be a poor show and would prompt other political parties to scoff at us. That is why it was decided to stop the yatra. On Tuesday, the tableaux will be taken to the public meeting venue in Gazole,” said a party leader.

Such a decision by the party leadership however, has invoked strong discontent among party workers and supporters of these Assembly constituencies, said sources.

It has also drawn flak from both Congress and Trinamul leaders who have pointed that the saffron camp’s strategy has failed.

“The yatra has been a failure across north Bengal, and particularly in Malda. BJP’s plan to cancel the yatra in some areas indicates that they lack even a bare minimum support base in these Assembly seats,” said Dulal Sarkar, a district Trinamul leader.

Mostaque Alam, the Congress MLA of Harischandrapur, said: “Their leaders and ministers might make tall claims that people from different communities are with them. But the ground reality is different. That BJP does not have support in minority belts has got exposed today.”

Minority Morcha

Leaders of the minority morcha of the BJP in Cooch Behar have demanded that at least one Muslim candidate should be fielded in any of the four general Assembly seats of the district at the upcoming elections.

In Cooch Behar, there are nine Assembly constituencies among which five are reserved for scheduled castes.

Siddique Ali Mian, the district president of the minority morcha, said they have submitted their demand in writing to the district and the state leadership of BJP.

“In 2016, the party fielded Ali Hossain in Natabari seat. He is the state president of the minority morcha now. This year too, we want the party to field a person from the minority community in at least one seat,” said Mian.

According to party insiders, there are a number of Muslim leaders in the saffron camp in Cooch Behar who work in different tiers.

“Often, they have to face questions as to why they are with the BJP. If a Muslim candidate is chosen for a seat, it would be easier for them as well as for the party to campaign across the district that has a considerable minority population, including Rajbanshi Muslims,” said a source. District BJP leaders declined comments. “The selection of candidates would be done by the state and central leaders. We have forwarded the message to them,” said a district BJP leader.

Additional reporting by Main Uddin Chisti in Cooch Behar