Union home minister Amit Shah is likely to hold his first rally in Bengal as part of the Lok Sabha election campaign at the Matua stronghold of Thakurnagar in an apparent bid by the BJP to clear the community’s apprehensions about the rules under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

“In all likelihood, Amit Shah will hold his first rally ahead of the Lok Sabha
polls in Thakurnagar where the Union home minister will clear all confusions related to the CAA. The meeting will be scheduled soon after the election dates are announced,” said a senior BJP leader in Bengal.

Multiple sources in the BJP have said the initial reaction from the Matua community, which has been with the BJP for the last few years, after the notification of the CAA rules on March 11 created a sense of discomfort in the saffron camp. The BJP had been expecting a surge in support for the party from Matuas after the notification of the CAA rules.

The Matua Mahasangha is headquartered at Thakurnagar which is in the Bongaon Lok Sabha segment.

The anxieties of nearly 50 lakh Matuas, said sources, include the following:

• The need to declare the country of origin in the application form for citizenship

• Applicants need to submit documents issued by the governments of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan to establish they have crossed over from these countries
• There is no clarity on what will happen to the applicants if their pleas for citizenship are rejected
  

“We all are aware that the Trinamul Congress led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee is adding to the confusion.... This has to be handled properly, else, the rules framed under the CAA may end up damaging our poll prospects,” said a state BJP leader.

Riding on the promise of the CAA, the BJP bagged two Lok Sabha seats — Ranaghat in Nadia district and Bongaon in North 24-Parganas — which are considered dominated by Matua voters in 2019. The citizenship issue yielded electoral dividends in the 2021 Assembly polls as well for the BJP which bagged nine out of 21 seats dominated by Matua voters.

“We were expecting to improve our performance this time and that’s why it is imperative to clear the confusion,” said the BJP leader.

A senior BJP leader said the party was taking note of all questions being asked on the CAA rules. This process of gathering ground-level information will continue for the next seven days.

Once the BJP identifies the areas that need to be addressed, a two-step process will be initiated to clear the confusion and assure the applicants that they will get citizenship without much trouble, said a source.

In the first step, BJP workers will reach out to Matuas and clear their confusion. For this, BJP workers will be imparted training by the top party leaders in Calcutta. The training could start early next week, a source said.

In the second step, the Union home minister himself will clear all “confusions and anxieties” over the CAA during his meeting in Thakurnagar, sources in the BJP said.

“The Union minister will address all these issues during the meeting.... He could make it clear that if anybody does not have the required papers, the district-level committee, which would be formed later on, can ask them to submit alternative papers like a certificate from social organisations of repute like Bharat Sevasram Sangha or Matua Mahasangha. These organisations will have to certify that the applicant was forced to enter India from any of the three neighbouring countries because of religious persecution,” said a BJP leader.

During the meeting, the home minister could also clear the confusion over what would happen to the people whose applications for citizenship would be rejected.

“He would make it clear that nobody would be pushed back to the neighbouring countries. He would also ensure that no one would face problems to get citizenship if organisations like Matua Mahasangha certify that the applicant was forced to cross over due to religious persecution,” said another BJP leader.