Why TMC is eyeing Matua community, Mamata Banerjee to hold a rally on December 9

Political enthusiasts have intensified regarding the assembly elections to be held in West Bengal in the next few months. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has started strengthening her political equation. Mamta's biggest emphasis is on the Matua community of the state, which has already been betting on BJP through CAA. In this way, the check-up between the BJP and TMC over the Matua community continues.

On December 4, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will hold a virtual meeting with all districts' prominent leaders. She will hold a meeting in West Medinipur on December 7, while on December 9 she will address the meeting at Thakurnagar in Nadia district, a stronghold of the Matua community.

The Matua community is very important in the politics of West Bengal. The Scheduled Tribes constitute the second-largest share of the population in Bengal. The Matua community has a stronghold on more than 70 assembly seats in Nadia and North and South 24 Parganas districts. The Matua community has played an important role in ousting the Left from power and forming Mamata Banerjee's government, but now the BJP is helping it. That is why Mamta will address a meeting on December 9 in Thakur Nagar of Nadia district, a stronghold of the Matua community.

The people of the Matua community have come from Bangladesh and settled in Bengal. They have been demanding citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act, i.e., CAA. In 2019, BJP was believed to have won a significant number of seats in 24 Parganas based on this community's votes. Mamta Banerjee also granted land rights to 25,000 refugee families in the last few days because of assembly elections. Mamta also allocated Rs 10 crore and Rs 5 crore for the Matua Development Board and Namasudra Development Board.

Political legacy
The descendants of Harichand Thakur founded the Matua sect. The Thakur family of the North 24 Parganas district has a long association with politics. Harichand's great-grandson Pramath Ranjan Thakur became a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1962 as a Congress candidate. Pramath was married to Binapani Devi in ​​1933. Binapani Devi was later called 'Matua Mata' or 'Boro Maa' (elder mother). Binapani Devi was born in 1918 in the Barisal district of undivided Bengal. After independence, Binapani Devi moved to West Bengal with the Thakur family.

Shatayu Binapani Devi, the widow of Parmarth Ranjan Thakur, remained the goddess of fortune for this community till the end. In recent times, many Thakur family members have tried their luck in politics and used their reputation in the Matua Federation. For Namasudra refugees' convenience, Binapani Devi, along with her family, set up a refugee settlement named Thakurganj on the present Bangladesh border. In this, arrangements were made to keep people from across the border, especially Namasudra refugees.

The Matua family entered politics due to its growing influence. In 1962 Parmarth Ranjan Thakur won the assembly election from Hanskhali, the reserved seat for the Scheduled Tribes of Nadia district of West Bengal. Due to the Matua sect's political status, the Matua sect's influence continued to grow stronger in the vicinity of Nadia district and the border areas of Bangladesh.

Parmarth Ranjan Thakur died in 1990. After this, Binapani Devi took the role of mentor of Matua Mahasabha. People associated with the sect started treating her as a goddess. Matua Mata Binapani Devi passed away on March 5, 2019. P. The Bengal government conducted her last rites with full respect.

In 2010, proximity to Mamta Banerjee increased
In 2010, Mata Binapani Devi's proximity to Mamata Banerjee grew. On March 15, 2010, Banapani Devi declared Mamata Banerjee as the patron of the Matua sect. This was formally considered to be Mamata Banerjee's political support. Mamata's Trinamool Congress got the Matua sect's support in creating an atmosphere against the Left, and in 2011, Mamata Banerjee p. Became Chief Minister of Bengal.

In 2014, Kapil Krishna Thakur, elder son of Binapani Devi, contested from Bangaon Lok Sabha seat on a Trinamool Congress ticket and reached Parliament. Kapil Krishna Thakur died in 2015. After that, his wife Mamta Bala Thakur won this seat on the Trinamool Congress ticket in the 2015 by-elections. After the death of Matua Mata, the political division in the family began to appear openly. His younger son Manjul Krishna Thakur joined BJP. In 2019, Manjul Krishna Thakur's son Shantanu Thakur became an MP from Bangaon on a BJP ticket.