Nabin Chandra Hansda, an 82-year-old tribal farmer, is eagerly waiting to participate in a march that Mamata Banerjee will lead here on Monday to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed rollout of the National Register of Citizens.

He plans to bring to the procession at least 200 residents of Kenda, his native village in the Purulia district.

The anti-CAA and NRC sentiments among the adivasis have given the Trinamul Congress an opportunity to regroup in the Jungle Mahal where the BJP made inroads into in the last general election.

Naren Hansda, 42, runs a school for poor tribal people in Ayodhha hills in the district and is busy asking people in the area to turn up in Mamata’s march. “Most of the people in my community have no land-related papers or birth-certificate to establish their citizenship. We have to protest against the new law,” he said.

Tribal people like Nabin and Naren — most of whom had voted for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls — are looking forward to the protest march on Monday as the fear of being labelled the stateless hangs heavy in the air.

The BJP had bagged Purulia, Jhargram and Bankura Lok Sabha seats in the Jungle Mahal, which were once Trinamul strongholds. The Jungle Mahal has 20 per cent adivasis.

“The tribal people here are worried about the implementation of the two agendas of the BJP — CAA and NRC — as most of them have no papers and don’t know how to get the same. The chief minister is aware of the uncertainty in the minds of the people and she is coming here to assuage the concerns. The tribal community is looking forward to her programme,” said Nabendu Mahali, the Purulia district general secretary of Trinamul.

The chief minister will lead a 4km procession from Victoria School crossing to Purulia taxi stand at 11am.

Trinamul sources said each of the 20 block presidents of the party in the district had been asked to bring at least 2,000 people to the procession.