Matua Community In Panic Over 'Unmapped' Voters In West Bengal Draft Electoral Rolls

Kolkata: The release of the draft Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls has caused immense panic in the Matua community - a prominent socio-religious group and the second-largest Scheduled Caste (SC) community in West Bengal.

The community holds decisive sway over 30 to 45 Assembly seats out of a total of 294 Assembly seats in the state, particularly in North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts in South Bengal, according to political circles. The Matuas are therefore a critical "swing vote" for major parties like the BJP and TMC.

The community members have migrated from Bangladesh to West Bengal in different phases, starting from the partition of the two countries, the 1971 war of Bangladesh Independence and in more recent times during communal disturbances in Bangladesh.

To the BJP, they are persecuted Hindu minority “refugees”, unlike the Muslims who have migrated and are described as illegal “infiltrators.”

A large number of these Matua voters in the assembly constituencies of North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts, bordering Bangladesh, have been marked as 'unmapped,' raising serious questions about their voting rights. This issue has led to a sharp escalation of political tensions between the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the principal opposition – the BJP.

According to Election Commission sources, the 2002 voter list has been used as the basis for verifying voter information. Those voters whose names are shown as 'unmapped' in the current draft list are primarily those whose names, or the names of their ancestors (parents), could not be found in the 2002 list.

Consequently, it has not been possible to establish a family connection or 'linkage'. In this situation, there is confusion regarding the submission of documents from before 1950 or 1971, or proof of residence from before 2002, to prove citizenship during the hearing.

Statistics show that the percentage of 'unmapped' voters in the assembly constituencies known as Matua strongholds is alarming. According to the draft list, 14.5 per cent of voters in Gaighata, 13.6 per cent in Habra, and 12.7 per cent in Bagda, all bordering areas, could not be mapped. In Kalyani in Nadia district, this rate is 11.9 per cent, in Ranaghat North-East 11.2 per cent, and in Bongaon North 11.3 per cent. Besides these, more than 7 to 10 per cent of voters in Krishnaganj, Ranaghat North-West and South, Chakdaha, Shantipur, and Haringhata are also on this list of uncertainty.

According to the All India Matua Mahasangha, there are approximately 18 million Matua voters in the state. While they have a presence in nearly 100 assembly constituencies, in 21 constituencies, the Matua vote is the determining factor for victory or defeat. Naturally, a round of political blame game has begun since the draft list was published.

Union Minister and Bangaon MP from the BJP, Shantanu Thakur, expressed concern over the situation and stated that the central government should immediately expedite the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) certificate issuance process. According to him, the situation could become extremely chaotic if the CAA is not implemented.

The Trinamool Congress has also retaliated. Trinamool MP Mamata Bala Thakur stated that they remain firm on their demand for unconditional citizenship to the Matuas. Trinamool spokesperson Arup Chakraborty alleged that the BJP has actually jeopardised its own vote bank through this complicated process of SIR and CAA.

Currently, thousands of Matua families have submitted their applications for citizenship through the CAA and are awaiting a hearing. As a result, protecting their voting rights through this complex legal process has become a major challenge for the Matua community, and no one is sure this time which way they will “swing” in the upcoming polls.