Political row erupts over BJP Matua leader Shantanu Thakur’s comment on deletion of Matua voters in SIR

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and Matua leader Shantanu Thakur’s recent remarks on Matuas ‘tolerating’ the deletion of one lakh names during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls sparked a political row between the saffron party and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), triggering clashes between the two factions in the Matua heartland of Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas on Wednesday (December 24, 2025). 

“If 50 lakh Rohingyas, Bangladeshi Muslims, and Pakistani Muslims are removed during the SIR exercise, while one lakh of our own people are required to stop voting for a while, where are we gaining more?” Mr. Thakur said at a BJP event in West Bengal’s Hanskhali-Garapota on Monday (December 22). 

Speaking to the press later at the same event, the MP from the Matua-heavy Bongaon Lok Sabha constituency further said that if one lakh Matua names were deleted from the electoral roll during the SIR, then the community should endure the ‘sacrifice’ for the sake of their own safety against ‘those who used to terrorise them’.  

It is worth noting that the Matua community—a sect of Namashudra Hindus who migrated from erstwhile East Pakistan (Bangladesh) to West Bengal after 1947—has been considered electorally inclined towards the saffron party, with the BJP winning the Lok Sabha seat twice consecutively.  

Till a few days back, the BJP leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, would periodically assuage the community’s concerns around citizenship by assuring them of the same, through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). 

On Wednesday (December 24), members of the community at their spiritual headquarters at Thakurnagar clashed among themselves along party lines. The Trinamool faction alleged that its members were attacked by the BJP supporters amid flaring tensions in the area.  

“He said it is alright for one lakh Matuas to lose their votes so that 50 lakh alleged infiltrators can be removed. The people of the community staged a protest today, seeking answers as to why they were told by the BJP that applying for CAA in their camps with money and getting Hindu identity cards made, would protect their rights as voters,” Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP and Matua leader Mamata Bala Thakur said on Thursday (December 25).  

When the SIR began in the State, the Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, had urged Matuas to apply for citizenship under the CAA in assistance camps set up by the BJP and assured them that their names would appear on the final electoral roll. On the other hand, a section of Matuas under the leadership of Mamata Bala Thakur had gone on hunger strike to oppose SIR, claiming that the exercise would disenfranchise members of the community.  

The Hindu had earlier reported that several assistance camps had cropped up at Thakurnagar under the BJP’s patronage, where Rs 800 was being charged cumulatively for the online CAAV application, along with the necessary affidavits, Hindu certificates and Matua certificates. 

However, on December 9, the Supreme Court observed that the granting of rights under the CAA would depend on verification of the applicant’s claim of fleeing persecution. 

The TMC attacked Shantanu Thakur in a social media post on Wednesday (December 24), accusing him of vacationing in London during the enumeration phase of the SIR. 

“He publicly said it is acceptable if one lakh Matua names are deleted. And now, he denies responsibility and refuses to answer for the deletion of Matua names from the draft electoral roll. Remember his name. Remember his false promises. Remember who NOT to vote for in 2026,” the post read.  

According to data from the draft electoral roll published in West Bengal by the Election Commission on December 16, assembly constituencies with a large Matua population recorded a higher percentage of electors who could not establish a link with the 2002 voter list. These electors will be mandatorily called for hearings under the SIR. These constituencies include Gaighata (14.5% unmapped) and Bagda (12.6% unmapped) in North 24 Parganas district, and Kalyani (11.92% unmapped) and Haringhata (7.1% unmapped) in Nadia district. In comparison, the State average of unmapped voters is 3.9%.