New Delhi: As West Bengal goes to vote for Phase 2 on Wednesday, the Matua community could emerge as kingmakers in this high-stakes election.In Phase 2, the Motua-dominated belt of North 24 Parganas and Nadia could be the deciding factor in the big battle of TMC versus BJP. However, ahead of voting, a large section of voters are unsure whether they will be able to vote.The uncertainty has arisen from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has led to significant deletions in Matua-heavy constituencies. In North 24 Parganas alone, around 3.25 lakh names have been removed from the voter list. Data from the main Matua pocket, Bongaon subdivision, shows that the deletion rate among those placed under the decision ranges between 67 per cent and 88 per cent.
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Who are Matua-Namasudras? Citizenship, SIR and their role in West Bengal elections
In Gaighata, 16,222 out of 22,278 marked voters were deleted, while in Baghdadh more than 15,000 deletions were recorded. Similar patterns have been reported in Bongaon North and South.In Nadia constituencies like Krishnanagar North, Krishnanagar South and Ranaghat areas, more than 90 per cent of the people who came under scrutiny did not make it to the final list. Administrative estimates show that a large proportion of the affected people are from the Matua Namasudra community.The scale of the extinction comes at a time when the community is in the midst of a long-delayed citizenship process.
worrying overlap
Of the nearly 1.12 lakh applications filed across West Bengal after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules were notified in March 2024, only 15,000 have been approved so far. Of these, more than 50,000 applications are from North 24 Parganas and Nadia, the same districts now witnessing large-scale voter boycott.This overlap has raised concerns at the ground level. In many localities, residents who have been living and voting in these areas for decades say their names have been marked as “pending” or removed altogether.
“We were promised citizenship but never got it. Now we are helpless,” Sukhomoy Halder, a resident of Gaighata, told TOI.Ramesh Gayen of Baghdad, who applied for citizenship months ago, said delays in the process mean he won’t be able to vote in this election. Yogesh Biswas from the same area said he had earlier refrained from applying in the hope of clarity, but now he too was at risk of being excluded.
politics on purification
The political reaction has been sharp and contradictory. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has alleged that the SIR exercise is designed to disenfranchise Matua voters, while local BJP leaders and workers in some constituencies have also criticized the scale of deletion.In Baghdad and Gaighata, protests and defection have been reported, with some party workers openly protesting the selection of candidates and linking their anger to being excluded from the voter list. However, at the national level, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tried to reassure the community. Addressing rallies in Bengal, he said the Matua and Namasudra families would get citizenship and “all the benefits that an Indian citizen is entitled to” under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). PM Modi also offered prayers at the Matua Thakur temple in North 24 Parganas and reiterated his government’s resolve to rapidly provide Indian citizenship to its members at a public meeting.While the PM in his rally on Sunday asked Matua and other Hindu refugees from Bangladesh not to pay heed to TMC’s claims, Home Minister Amit Shah and other BJP campaigners have been emphatic in underlining the party’s commitment to their welfare.The assurance comes as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is attempting to retain support in the region that significantly contributed to its rise from 2 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 to 18 in 2019. Yet, at the ground level, the immediate concern is not long-term policy but current entitlements. In North 24 Parganas, where the Matuas constitute almost 30 per cent of the population and affect 33 assembly seats, many voters are grappling with the question of whether their names will be restored on time or whether applying for citizenship will affect their status and whether they will be able to participate in the April 29 voting process.
Can the group swing Bengal?
The risk of this uncertainty is very high due to the electoral weight of the community. The population of Matua Namasudra is estimated to be about 17 to 18 percent of the population of West Bengal, with a higher concentration in the border districts. Their presence extends to North and South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Howrah, Cooch Behar and parts of North Bengal.Election analysts estimate that Matua voters influence the results on 60 to 65 assembly seats. In the second phase alone, they are a significant factor in 21 constituencies. In hotly contested elections, this scale of influence gives the community an advantage that political parties cannot ignore.This is clear from recent election trends. In 2019, the BJP made big gains in Bengal, winning 18 Lok Sabha seats, driven by support in Matua dominated areas like Bongaon and Ranaghat. In the 2021 assembly elections, it won 9 out of the 21 seats where Matua voters are the deciding factor. Even in 2024, when its numbers declined, it still retained the lead in many of these segments. The TMC, which had earlier built strong support through welfare measures and refugee resettlement, has been seeing the community at the center of its election strategy. The result is fierce competition for a vote bank that is both large and increasingly vocal.
From caste margin to political center
The political importance of the Matua Namasudra community lies in its history. The Namasudras were once among the most marginalized caste groups in East Bengal, occupying the lowest rung of the social hierarchy. Their claim began in the nineteenth century under the leadership of Harichand Thakur, who founded the Matua movement as a rejection of caste discrimination and a call for respect and equality.His son Guruchand Thakur expanded the movement by promoting education and political awareness. Matua identity became a religious and social force, offering an alternative to both caste oppression and religious conversion pressures.Partition disrupted this trajectory. Over several decades, especially during the riots of the 1950s and the war of 1971, large numbers of Namasudras migrated to East Pakistan and later Bangladesh. They arrived in West Bengal as refugees, often settling in colonies with limited infrastructure and economic opportunities.Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas emerged as the center of the Matua movement in India, which weaves together faith, memory and identity. Over time, this shared experience of displacement transformed into political consciousness.
an unfulfilled promise
For decades, the question of citizenship remained unresolved for many in the community. The CAA was seen as a turning point, providing a path to formal recognition for non-Muslim refugees from neighboring countries.This was not just a legal provision for the Matuas. It was linked to their history of displacement and their search for belonging. The promise of citizenship holds both practical and symbolic significance.In districts like North 24 Parganas and Nadia, where over 50,000 applications have been submitted, many applicants are still waiting just as 15,000 out of 1.12 lakh have been approved across Bengal.This gap between promise and promise has created disappointment. The SIR exercise has heightened that frustration by bringing questions of documentation and eligibility into sharp focus.
sir purification
Special Intensive Review (SIR) has turned into a flashpoint in Matua dominated areas. Although officially an administrative process, its impact has been deeply political and social.In many constituencies, entire groups of voters have been marked as “under trial” and subsequently removed. Residents say the process has been difficult to navigate, with limited clarity on documentation requirements and timelines.“My parents and grandmother have been voting since 2002. I was born and educated here, yet our name has been removed,” a resident of the area told TOI.For many, the concerns go beyond voting. Electoral identity is linked to access to welfare schemes and state recognition. Losing a place in the voter list creates the fear of losing other rights as well.Another resident said, “I get old age pension and fear I may lose it if I am no longer an enrolled voter.”These fears reflect deep insecurities. For a community shaped by migration and delayed recognition, verification processes are not considered routine. They are experienced as a test of belonging.
an internal partition
The response to SIR has exposed divisions not only between parties but also within them. TMC has accused BJP of using this exercise to weaken its key voter base. While defending this process at the central level, the BJP has faced criticism from a section of its own local leadership.There have been reports of protests and defection in constituencies like Bagdah and Gaighata. Some leaders have contested the elections as independents, citing dissatisfaction over both candidate selection and voter deletion.The Thakur family, which holds symbolic power within the Matua community, is itself divided on political lines. Different members are associated with different parties, reflecting widespread fragmentation within the community.This division has an impact on voting patterns. The Matua vote, once considered capable of uniting behind a single political force, now appears more fluid.
beyond arithmetic
Despite these divisions, the Matua Namasudra community remains one of the most politically aware groups in the state. Its voting behavior is shaped not just by immediate benefits but by a strong sense of history and identity.This identity includes memories of caste discrimination, the reformist movement led by Harichand and Guruchand Thakur, and the experience of displacement after Partition. It also involves attempting to rebuild life in a new state while seeking recognition and respect.These factors influence how the community responds to political messages. Citizenship promises are effective because they address a long-standing issue. Also, administrative actions such as SIRs are closely scrutinized because they affect immediate rights.
A question behind the vote
As West Bengal goes through its election cycle, the Matua belt is coming to the fore not only for its electoral significance but also for the questions it raises.The competition in these constituencies is not only between political parties. It is also between promise and process. Between long-term assurance and immediate experience.For many voters, the choice is no longer just which party to support. It’s about whether they will be able to participate in the first place.The Matua Namasudra community has come a long way from caste marginalization in East Bengal to becoming a decisive force in the politics of West Bengal. Its journey reflects resilience and adaptation.This election reflects that journey at a moment of tension. A moment where citizenship remains incomplete and electoral participation itself has come under question.As April 29 approaches, the mood in the Matua bastion is defined less by campaign rhetoric and more by a simple, unresolved worry about whether they will be counted.Read this also In search of Indian ‘Porichoy’: Will Matua-Namasudra rewrite ‘Poriborton’ in Bengal elections?
