CHIEF MINISTER Mamata Banerjee arrived in Nadia district on Tuesday for a three-day tour and spoke with party officials, including BJP MLA Mukul Roy, who switched back to the Trinamool Congress during the 2021 Assembly elections.
According to sources, Banerjee strongly urged party officials and members to put an end to the conflict in the Nadia area during the meeting. The meeting was attended by TMC MP Mahua Moitra, state minister Ujjwal Biswas, party’s Krishnanagar organisational district president Kallol Khan, and others. According to party sources, Banerjee complained to Khan about the district’s escalating infighting and requested a resolution. Prior to the state panchayat elections held next year, the TMC chairperson reportedly intends to organise her party.
Banerjee is set to speak at a party workers’ meeting in Krishnanagar on Wednesday. It is anticipated that she would engage the Matua group, which is well-represented in the Nadia district.
All eyes will be on Banerjee and the position she takes to win over the refugee population as the BJP has pledged to execute the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The Scheduled Caste Namasudra community, which includes Matuas, migrated in large numbers to India both during and after the 1971 India-Pakistan war that resulted in Bangladesh’s freedom.
Their long-standing demand which the BJP vowed to carry out if it won the West Bengal Assembly election is to be granted Indian citizenship.
In the 26 Assembly seats up for election last year in the Matua- populated North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts, the BJP won 14 and the TMC won 12.
In these two districts’ 26 Matua-dominated seats, the BJP had a majority in 2019.
“The focus is clearly on panchayat polls and the ways to strengthen the organisation. To do well in elections, the support of the Matua community is important in the southern part of the state. On Thursday, the party supremo is likely to send the message to the rank and file in view of the panchayat polls,” said a senior leader of the party.
In Nadia, the TMC is in a precarious position. TMC and BJP each hold one of the two Lok Sabha seats.
In the district’s 17 Assembly seats, the TMC won 8 and the BJP won 9, respectively, in the 2021 Assembly elections. However, Mukul Roy, a BJP MLA, eventually switched over to the TMC, bringing the party’s unofficial total of MLAs to nine.
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