Matuas, farmers issues, border districts in focus as 43 seats of Bengal to vote today

The Matua factor centred around the promise of citizenship, closure of jute mills, rising unemployment and agrarian distress are some of the crucial factors likely to impact the sixth phase of polling in Bengal on Thursday that will see voters in 43 assembly constituencies in Uttar Dinajpur, Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman cast their vote.
Due to the rising Covid cases, the Election Commission had cut short the election campaign period to 72 hours prior to voting. This did not deter the campaigns by both parties as many BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda participated in rallies accompanied by state and central BJP leaders. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and MP Abhishek Banerjee also held around 35 public meetings this week.

The TMC has been blaming the BJP for bringing in people from other states leading to a rise in Covid cases in the state. The party has been urging the EC to club the remaining three phases into one. The BJP however is supporting the eight-phase polls citing constitutional obligation.

Nine seats in Uttar Dinajpur and Nadia will go to polls on April 22 along with 17 constituencies in North 24 Parganas and eight in Purba Bardhaman. Seats in Uttar Dinajpur like Chopra, Islampur, Goalpokhar and Chakulia that share a border with Bangladesh on one side and Bihar on another are strategically important for the BJP and TMC.

At least seven of the seats in North 24 Parganas, have decade-old jute mills in places like Naihati, Bhatpara, Jagaddal and Barrackpore and come under the influence of BJP MP Arjun Singh, who was formerly with the TMC. Singh has raised the hindutva pitch in these areas that also have significant Muslim voters and have seen political violence in the past three years.

The Matuas are very crucial in Bongaon Uttar, Bongaon Dakshin, Swarupnagar, Bagda and Krishnanagar Dakshin. With an estimated three million members, the community can swing the votes in 30-40 assembly seats across the state.

While the BJP has promised to draft rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act soon, the TMC has questioned the delay in implementation of the promise, and regularised Matua colonies.

Shantanu Thakur, the BJP MP has vouched his community’s support to the BJP citing the TMC’s opposition to the CAA as the main reason for the shift in votes of his community, a predominant dalit group known to vote en masse. Of the 43 assembly seats, nine are reserved.

Eight seats in Purba Bardhaman, the largest paddy producing district of the state will vote on Thursday. Here, farmers spoke out against exploitative rice mill owners, mahajans (local money lenders) and local TMC leaders for forcing them to sell their produce at prices much lower than the MSP.

In the industrial belt of Paschim Bardhaman, the defection of influential TMC leaders such as Jitendra Tiwari and Krishnendu Mukherjee to the BJP are likely to benefit the latter.

The fight for Raiganj will also be interesting as Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda campaigned here on the final day of the campaign. In 2019, the BJP had managed to secure the Raiganj Lok Sabha seat, although the district comprises close to 50% from the minority community.

In 2016, TMC managed to win five seats, while two each went to the Congress and the Left Front. But in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, TMC could secure a lead in five assembly segments, while the BJP led in the remaining four.

Political observers say this time, with the Congress and the CPM as allies, it may be a tough contest for the BJP which is why the party had intensified its campaign.

High-profile candidates in this phase include BJP’s national vice president Mukul Roy, senior TMC leaders Jyotipriya Mallick and Chandrima Bhattacharya, sitting MLAs of Samyukt Morcha, Ali Imran Ramz of All India Forward Bloc and Tanmoy Bhattacharya of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Roy, one of the architects of the BJP's rise in the state will face competition from actor and TMC candidate Koushani Mukherjee. The former TMC leader is returning to the electoral fray after two decades, after he lost in Jagatdal.