Eye on polls,Mamata joins Matua sect

On Saturday,after attending several railway programmes in North 24 Parganas,Mamata landed at the sect’s headquarters at Thakurnagar in the evening. There,she was given the honor of a life-time membership during a ceremony that was attended by a large number of people,mostly disciples.

The Trinamool chief

has been cultivating the community ever since her agitations in Nandigram and Singur,where hundreds of people belonging to the backward class were hurt by the state government’s plan for land acquisition. Since then,the Trinamool has maintained a close relation with the “Matua” community.

Political observers say the community members can decide the fate of at least 10 Assembly constituencies in North 24 Parganas and Nadia district.

The Matua community primarily consists of Dalits (mainly Namasudra) who migrated from Bangladesh. They follow the teachings of Harichand and Guruchand Thakur,have around three million members mainly concentrated in these two districts. But recently,they have gained presence in several other districts.

The CPM has fared poorly in the panchayat polls in 2008 and the recent Lok Sabha polls in the areas where the sect holds sway. In the 2008 panchayat polls,the CPM fared poorly in North 24-Parganas and it was even worse in the Gaighata subdivision where the headquarters of the sect is situated. Of the 39 panchayat samiti seats,the CPM bagged only two. The Bongaon Lok Sabha constituency has seven Assembly segments — Kalyani,Haringhata,Bagdah,Bongaon Uttar,Bongaon Dakshin,Gaighata and Swarupnagar — all reserved for Scheduled Castes,where the Matuas are a force to reckon with. They constitute nearly 50% of the SC population in these areas,the highest concentration being in Bagdah (80%) and in Gaighata (60%).

Earlier,on several occasions,top Left Front leaders have visited Matua Dham,the holy place for the members of the community. CPM state secretary Biman Bose,departed leader Subhash Chakraborty and ministers from Tripura Left front government had visited the place regularly.

The week-long Matua Fair held in March attracts around 2.5 million devotees every year and Thakurbari,where the fair is organised,is a destination for political parties that place banners and set up centres to guide the devotees.

Before landing in the holy place of Matua community,Mamata kicked off the construction work for a new broad gauge railway line between Bongaon and Chandanbazar. She also laid the foundation for a railway stadium at Bongaon and flagged off two special trains for women passengers,besides inaugurating a computerised reservation centre at Thakurnagar station.