Tmc seeks to regain lost ground in jangalmahal, former maoist bastion

Next Story {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}}   TMC SEEKS TO REGAIN LOST GROUND IN JANGALMAHAL, FORMER MAOIST BASTION ByTanmay Chatterjee Mar 25, 2021 06:45 AM IST THE JANGALMAHAL REGION SPREAD

ACROSS WEST MIDNAPORE, PURULIA, BANKURA, AND JHARGRAM DISTRICTS IN POLL-BOUND WEST BENGAL WAS A MAOIST STRONGHOLD BEFORE TMC STORMED TO POWER FIRST IN 2011. BUT RESIDENTS SAY RAMPANT

UNEMPLOYMENT COST TMC SUPPORT IN THE REGION IN THE 2019 LOK SABHA POLLS {{#userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}}

{{/userSubscribed}} The Jangalmahal region spread across West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, and Jhargram districts in poll-bound West Bengal was a Maoist stronghold before Mamata Banerjee’s

Trinamool Congress (TMC) stormed to power first in 2011. Banerjee promised better governance in the area, which has a sizeable tribal population and has been designated as a backward area

since Independence. {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} She created the Jhargram district in April 2017 by splitting West Midnapore and formed

separate welfare boards for tribal communities such as the Santhals, Lodhas, and Kurmis. Banerjee also gave official recognition to the Ol Chiki language of the region besides building

roads, hospitals, schools, and polytechnic colleges. {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} But residents say rampant unemployment cost TMC support in the region in the

2019 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP made significant gains in the region by winning five Lok Sabha seats here. It emerged as the second biggest party in the state and won 18 of West Bengal’s 42

Lok Sabha seats. West Bengal’s 5.29 million people from scheduled tribes as per the 2011 census accounted for about the state’s 5.8% population. {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}

{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} ALSO READ | AFTER DIDI, IT IS NOW BHAIPO – THE NEW DIMENSION IN BENGAL POLITICS {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} ALSO READ | AFTER DIDI,

IT IS NOW BHAIPO – THE NEW DIMENSION IN BENGAL POLITICS {{/usCountry}} Read More {{^usCountry}} TMC is wooing them as it seeks to reclaim the lost ground in the region. It has invited

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, a prominent tribal leader, to campaign in the region. Banerjee, who on Tuesday addressed a rally in the tribal Para area in the Purulia district, said

Soren will again campaign for the TMC. “The BJP lost the Jharkhand polls. If elections are free and fair, it [BJP] will end up playing dugdugi [pellet drum in West Bengal too],” she said.

{{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} TMC is wooing them as it seeks to reclaim the lost ground in the region. It has invited Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, a prominent tribal leader, to

campaign in the region. Banerjee, who on Tuesday addressed a rally in the tribal Para area in the Purulia district, said Soren will again campaign for the TMC. “The BJP lost the Jharkhand

polls. If elections are free and fair, it [BJP] will end up playing dugdugi [pellet drum in West Bengal too],” she said. {{/usCountry}} {{^usCountry}} Birbaha Hansda, the TMC’s candidate

from Jhargram, accused the BJP of bribing voters and using unfair means to win tribal votes. {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} Birbaha Hansda, the TMC’s candidate from Jhargram, accused the BJP

of bribing voters and using unfair means to win tribal votes. {{/usCountry}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} Lack of employment avenues may

continue to hurt the TMC in the region, residents said. Upen Murmu, 55, a tribal Santhali from Lalgarh, said he makes a living by selling ropes made of wild grass whose demand has dipped

over the years. He said he makes around ₹250-300 weekly as he lamented the life that has not changed much since his younger days. The BJP is trying to consolidate its position and has among

others deputed actor Mithun Chakraborty, one of its star campaigners, to campaign and lead his roadshows at Chhatna, Saltora, Raipur, and Jhargram in the tribal region on Thursday. ALSO READ

| ‘NO INDIAN IS AN OUTSIDER IN THIS LAND’: PM MODI IN WEST BENGAL {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} Union home minister Amit Shah is also

scheduled to address rallies in the region the same day. The TMC has sharpened its outsider narrative against Shah since he garlanded a wrong statue while paying tribute to iconic tribal

leader Birsa Munda in Bankura district in November. Realising their mistake at the last minute, BJP workers placed a framed image of Munda at the base of the statue for Shah to garland. The

TMC has targeted Shah for being ignorant of Bengal’s culture and insulting Munda by placing his image at someone else’s feet. The incident did not go down well with the tribal people, said

Mahadeb Murmu, a resident of Lalgarh. “Videos of the incident went viral in the Jangalmahal area,” he said. {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}

The issue of Sarna has also had the BJP worried. Tribal groups, including some having bases in the neighbouring Jharkhand, want Sarna, which is distinct from Hinduism, to be recognised as a

separate religion. Sarna followers worship nature instead of idols. In 2020, the Jharkhand assembly passed a special resolution and sent it to the Centre, seeking a separate religion code

for the tribal population. Residents said Union minister Arjun Munda, a tribal leader, did not speak a word on the Sarna issue during his recent campaigns in Bengal. BJP’s Khagen Murmu, who

won the Malda North Lok Sabha seat in 2019 and heads his party’s tribal wing in West Bengal, accused a section of tribal leaders of misleading the masses over Sarna and telling them to vote

for the TMC. {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} Like the Santhals, who are in majority in most parts of the region, the Kurmis, too, are

apprehensive about the political scenario. Two leaders of the Kurmi Sammanyay Mancha are contesting the elections without being part of mainstream forces represented by people from higher

castes. “Big parties only make short-term promises before elections. The Kurmi population in Bengal stands at around 0.5 million. In Jhargram district’s Gopiballavpur constituency, from

where I am contesting, the TMC and BJP have fielded Kurmi candidates,” said Ashok Mahata. “Sarna is linked to our right to jal, jangal and jomi [water, jungle, and land].” People from the

Bhumij tribe are also contesting elections. Their leader, Shib Shankar Singh, is contesting the Bandoan seat in Purulia as an independent nominee. {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}

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