West Bengal Assembly polls: Parties fight for the attention of an ignored Jangalmahal

West Bengal's Jangalmahal, once infamous for being the hotbed of Maoist activities, has been an important factor in the state elections, and this year is no different. The region has been stuck between promises of development and an apparent failure of their fulfilment over the years. The locals have strived for basic amenities like drinking water, healthcare facilities, education and employment.

The tribal and Dalit-dominated region accounts for 42 assembly seats spread across four districts — Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and West Midnapore. It also has five Parliamentary constituencies — Bankura, Bishnupur, Jhargram, Midnapore and Purulia.

Jaganmahal was a Left bastion before it decided to discard them. Why was Left rejected? If one were to wager a guess, it would be a lack of proper development in the region. That is why when Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress promised the region its longstanding demands and assured of dragging it out of the shadows of ignorance, Janganmahal did not hesitate to react. In the historic 2011 Assembly elections, TMC along with its ally Congress raced to power, largely thanks to Jangalmahal. The trend continued in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the 2016 Assembly elections.

Also read: Modi pushes to win West Bengal against formidable opposition

The scenario changed in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. TMC was no longer the dominant force in Jangalmahal, and it was replaced by a force that had, till then, very little presence in Bengal, the BJP.

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

Ahead of the 2021 elections, Jangalmahal is again at the forefront of the poll battle. Almost half of these constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In the first phase of the polls, 30 seats from Jangalmahal are going to polls, of which seven are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and four for Scheduled Caste candidates in the region.

This time, 191 candidates are in the fray in that region, including 29 each from the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 18 of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), six from the Congress, four from the Communist Party of India and two from All India Forward Bloc, according to a report by The Hindu.

Read more: Mithun leads mega roadshows in poll-bound West Bengal

TMC has decided to support an independent from the Joypur seat. The BJP is supporting AJSU (All Jharkhand Students Union) candidate from the Baghmundi seat in the Purulia district. Congress MLA Nepal Mahato is contesting from the Baghmundi seat while TMC leader Shantiram Mahato is contesting from Balarampur.

TMC has fielded actor June Malia from Medinipur while the party has nominated Santhali language film actor Birbaha Hansda from Jhargram, who will contest against the BJP's Sukumar Satpati and CPI(M’s) young leader Madhuja Sen Roy.

Salboni will see former Left Front Minister and CPI(M) leader Sushanta Ghosh and in the adjoining constituency of the Garbeta, the Samyukta Morcha has fielded Tapan Ghosh. Both the leaders had considerable influence during the Left Front regime.

In a bid to win back the Jangalmahal, TMC has decided to play a gamble by inducting Chhatradhar Mahato in its fold. In the Maoist agitation, he was the former convenor of the Maoist-backed People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), who was charged under the UAPA and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009.

He came out of jail in February 2020 and is since working to win back the region for CM Mamata Banerjee.

Read: Bengal tops in Facebook political ad spend among poll-bound states

“The BJP divided the tribal community after its win. They pitted Kurmi (OBC) against Santhal Adivasi (ST) for political gains. But the people of Jangalmahal want peace and no more bloodshed. They were misled into believing that the BJP is working for their rights,” Mahato said in a conversation with The Indian Express.

Mahato may have mentioned the Kurmis (OBC) because of the communities' domination in the region. According to a report by DH, the key to success in the region for any party is the support of the Kurmi community, who are a determining factor in at least 30 out of the 42 Assembly seats in Jangalmahal. With a population of nearly 30 lakh, the community can decide the fate of any elections in the region.

Currently listed under the OBC category, the Kurmis have long been agitating to be inducted in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. They have held agitations against both the state and the Central government over the issue. Last February, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to the Centre to provide ST status to the Kurmis in February 2019 but since then, there has been little progress.

This is why the TMC has roped in Mahato to woo the Kurmis. According to party sources, the party will also try to cash in on the Kurmis’ discontent over the issue of not being granted ST status. On the other hand, the BJP is highlighting the alleged corruption in the region by local TMC leaders in a bid to keep their Kurmi vote base intact.

Read: Parties bank on identity politics, promise of industrialisation in high-profile Nandigram seat

However, BJP is wary of pushing its aggressive Hindutva agenda among the community as the Kurmis consider the Sarna Dharma (worshipping nature) as their religion. The official recognition of the Sarna Dharma is still pending with the state and the Centre.

The saffron party can rely on Suvendu Adhikari in its arsenal. Even though Adhikari wields most of his power in the Purba Medinipur district (East Medinipur), he has considerable influence in the Janganmahal region and his defection from TMC may well play a part in deciding the fate of the BJP.

Governments come and governments go, but Jangalmahal's grievances have persisted. The deprived region is pinning its hopes on the upcoming Assembly elections.