Source: Source: Internet , File pictures
Kolkata 5 March: To regain her lost ground among the tribal people of the state, chief minister Mamata Banerjee very deftly used a social function like marriage into a political tool which was actually aimed at alleged forced conversion among the tribal population.
The tribal community constitutes six per cent of the state’s population. Miss Banerjee is trying to woo the community which had overwhelmingly voted for BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
On Thursday Mamata Banerjee attended a Gonobibaho function (mass marriage) in which 300 tribal couples got married. The ceremony was funded under the Rupashree scheme of the state government. An amount of Rs 25,000 was provided by the state for organising the ceremony. To strike a chord with the tribals, Banerjee also danced with them as a part of the rituals.
Hinting at the BJP, she said “Do not get carried away by the assurances of a political party. They are trying to forcefully convert your religion in the name of marriage. They may lure you with money . Our government has taken every initiative for organising the marriage. We will vigilant in your locality to stop forceful conversion in the name of religion.”
She blessed the newly married couples with gifts and said that she is going to the tea gardens at Alipurduar and Cooch Behar in the next week to organise a similar mass marriage function to stop forced conversion.The couples also received utensils to run their new family.
Senior TMC leaders said that the programme will be held in each and every tribal area and tribal people have been asked to be vigilant and stop forceful religious conversion in the name of marriage.
Earlier Banerjee claimed that she has received intelligence report that a right wing outfit was trying to change religion by arranging mass marriage. The outfit has also reportedly distributed leaflets to various tribal couples and instructed them to sign the leaflets in which it was mentioned that they are going to tie in the knot based on Hinduism. Police have been been asked to take strong action against the accused .
She claimed that she received complaints from Malda and Alipurduar. Two mass marriage events were organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Malda and Alipurduar in the last two weeks. The district administrations had stopped both the events, alleging that in the name of mass marriage, the right-wing outfit was trying to change some people’s religion.
Even Banerjee warned BJP leader Manoj Tigga in the Assembly to stop religious conversion.
Some BJP leaders said that the Trinamool Congress is trying to woo the tribal community ahead of the municipal and the upcoming Assembly elections in order to regain its lost ground. But people have lost faith in the TMC.
Rahul Sinha , national secretary of BJP, said: “The TMC can claim many things. They are trying to regain their lost grounds by organising such programs. It’s a baseless allegation that right wing outfit is trying forceful conversion in the name of marriage . People have already lost faith in the TMC and we are confident of increasing our vote share in the tribal heartlands too in the upcoming elections.”
It may be mentioned that Mamata government has already announced pension for the SC/ST in the state budget. The government has announced an old-age pension scheme, Bandhu Prakalpa, for Scheduled Castes. About 21 lakh people who are 60 years and above in age will receive monthly assistance of Rs 1000. A similar scheme has been launched for the Scheduled Tribes. Four lakh people from the state’s ST population are likely to benefit from this scheme.
How TMC ‘s vote bank shifted to BJP in the tribal belt
It may be mentioned that Trinamool Congress got the maximum dividend in the tribal areas during 2014 when it received 54 percent vote share and won with the highest margin in the tribal dominated areas . During that time Mamata Banerjee announced several schemes to woo the tribal population and also Rs 2 per kilo rice to every family. But it did not last long as BJP tried to make inroads in the tribal populated belts and in 2018 panchyat election, the BJP had done considerably well.
In 2019, the BJP which received 18 out of 42 seats in West Bengal won in Alipurduar, Coochbehar , Jalpiaguri, Darjeeling , Raigunj , Balurghat Malda Uttor apart from emerging victorious in the Junglemahal areas which includes Jhargram, Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura and Bishnupur constituencies.
According to statistics received from the chief electoral office (CEO), West Bengal, in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP received 20% votes from the Jangalmahal districts. However, in 2016 Assembly elections, the BJP’s vote share came down to 17%. However, in 2018 Panchayat election, the BJP gained strength as it received 27% of the votes polled in all these constituencies.
While a section of political observers feel that the entry of RSS into the tribal heartland especially setting up of Ekal Vidyalayas has helped the BJP to make inroads, another section of political observers feel that Mamata has failed to understand the sentiment of the tribal people which has resulted in her debacle in the tribal heartland.
According to the 2011 Census, 52 lakh tribal people resides in West Bengal. 40 groups are notified by the government as Scheduled Tribes (STs). Two of Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha constituencies are reserved for STs —one is Alipurduar in north Bengal, and the other is Jhargram. Jangalmahal is the predominant tribal belt of Bengal and it comprises the districts of Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore. Jhargram and Birbhum.