Eyeing the West Bengal and Assam Assembly election, Home Minister Amit Shah will address rallies in both states today. HM Shah has already reached Assam, where he is likely to meet, the ‘Maharaj’ of Koch-Rajbongshi who heads a faction of the Greater Cooch Behar Peoples’ Association (GCPA) in Chirang district in lower Assam.
After Assam, Home Minister Amit Shah will reach West Bengal to flag off the fourth round of the BJP’s ‘Poriborton Yatra’ from Cooch Behar in West Bengal and also address a public meeting. On the same day, he will also visit Thakurnagar, starting by paying his tributes at the Harichand Thakur temple. Harichand Thakur, a disciple of Vaishnavite saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had founded the sect in the 19th century and saw his followers expand to areas both in West Bengal and Bangladesh.
After this in the evening, the Union Home Minister will address a meeting of the party’s social media volunteers in Kolkata.
Matua community, an important factor for Bengal Elections
Considering the upcoming Assembly elections, Thakurnagar is considered to be very important in Bengal politics this time. Thakurnagar is considered a stronghold of the Matua community. This town is located just 15 kilometers from the border of Bangladesh. The people of Thakurnagar, which are considered to be the stronghold of the Matua community, want the Citizenship Act (CAA) to be implemented very soon. With the implementation of this law, Hindu refugees who have settled here from Bangladesh and settled for years, who do not even have a permanent lease of land, will get citizenship of India.
The people of the Matua community have not settled in Thakurnagar only, Their population is also good in Nadia, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas districts. Their vote is decisive in about 21 seats in Bengal, which play an important role in any party’s victory.
Earlier Shah’s tour of West Bengal was postponed due to the violence in the tractor parade of farmers on Republic Day in Delhi. Significantly, the West Bengal BJP is taking out 5 Parivartan Yatras in the state which will pass through all 294 assembly constituencies. BJP president JP Nadda flagged off three trips from Navdeep in Nadia district, Tarapith in Birbhum, and Jhargram last week.
