An oft-repeated warning issued by the Trinamool Congress against its main opponent BJP is that eating fish and meat—the staple diet of most Bengalis—will be prohibited if the saffron party comes to power after this election. In other words, the essential Bengali identity and culture are at stake, and only the Trinamool could prevent this from happening. In other words, Trinamool has once again positioned itself as the upholder and protector of “Bengaliness” against the foreign culture of the “bahiragata” (outsider, as the BJP is labelled by the party).

The saffron party is playing its own brand of identity politics—one that is communally motivated and centred round the narrative that the Hindus of the State are in danger because of unchecked and “illegal” immigration from Bangladesh and the Trinamool’s alleged policy of minority appeasement. The BJP’s rise in the State since 2019 has created a binary where the saffron party’s battle cry of “Jai Shri Ram” is countered by the Trinamool’s “Jai Bangla”.

While the broader identities of “Bengali” and “Hindu” have assumed a central position in Bengal politics, the demands and pressures of diverse smaller ethnic communities across the State also play a crucial role in deciding the electoral outcome of numerous constituencies and have to be factored in by all political players in their electoral calculations.

In the 40 Jangalmahal seats—as the Assembly constituencies of the forested districts of Bankura, Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, and Purulia are collectively referred to— the Kudmi community and the Adivasis are crucial factors in any election. Not only does each community have its own demands, there are divisions within some of the communities as well.

Surja Kanta Murmu, leader of the Bharat Jakat Majhi Pargana Mahal, a Santal tribal body, feels that there is hardly any reason for the Santal community to be happy with the way things are.

“There are many issues in our society that have not been addressed, primarily education. The Board of Santali Education is not functioning properly, and as a result, a number of schools are closing down. Without education in one’s own mother tongue, there can be no uplift for a community,” Murmu told Frontline.

He added that Santals have grievances over other issues such as their right to forest resources and customs linked to forests. “When we go for sendra [ritual hunting], we are blamed for damaging forests and wildlife; but that is our custom. When there is large-scale deforestation by timber merchants or big corporations, then the government has nothing to say,” said Murmu.

Saridharam and Sarna Dharam

The Adivasis account for around 7.5 per cent of the total population of Bengal, and around 60 per cent of them belong to the Santal tribe. A burning issue for tribal communities is the demand for state recognition for their religion—Saridharam for Santals and Sarna Dharam for the rest. Subodh Hansda, convenor of the powerful all-India Santal body Saridharam Code Committee, pointed out that the demand for recognition of Saridharam has been a long-standing one and “will definitely be a factor” that the Santal voter will consider on election day.

According to figures available with the influential Adivasi Socio Educational and Cultural Association that is spearheading the Saridharam movement, more than 30 lakh people in West Bengal follow Saridharam. They are spread across the districts of Bankura, Paschim Medinipur, Purbo Medinipur, Jhargram, Purulia, Birbhum, Bardhaman, Hooghly, Murshidabad, Malda, and Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur.

“Saridharam is entirely different from the Hindu religion, and the BJP’s insistence on bringing tribal religions under the broad banner of Hindutva is hurting tribal sentiments,” Hansda told Frontline.

The Adivasi Sengel Abhiyan (ASA), which has been staging a prolonged and often violent agitation for the recognition of Sarna Dharam in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and Assam, has made it clear that it will support whichever party takes up its cause.

Rampada Soren, leader of the ASA in Purulia district, told Frontline: “Religion is a big factor. We have approached the State government and Centre to give recognition to our Sarna Dharam, and many State governments have sent our proposal to the Centre. But the Centre has not done anything about it yet. This is our birthright, and we need it. Followers of Sarna Dharam number 50 lakhs. Jains with 40 lakh have got a code, but the government has not given us any code yet. Whichever government gives us this recognition, we will support that government.”

Both the ASA and Saridharam Code Committee have voiced their disappointment at the Centre dragging its feet on the matter.

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Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 2023 passed a resolution in the Legislative Assembly giving recognition to Saridharam and Sarna Dharam and acknowledging their distinctness from Hindu religion. Her party even wrote to the Centre to do the same. The move paid electoral dividends: the tribal vote, which had veered away from the Trinamool to the BJP in 2019 remained firmly with Mamata’s party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Kudmi grievance

If a section of the tribal people of Jangalmahal is a little cut up with the BJP, the Kudmi community, which also is a key factor in the elections in the region, is largely unhappy with the Trinamool. It resents the State government’s dawdling on the community’s long-standing demand to be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes.

Dipyendu Mahato, convenor of the Rajya Committee of the powerful Adivasi Kudmi Samaj in Purulia district (where the Kudmi population stands at around 40 per cent), told Frontline: “The State government is denying us our identity. The ‘Comments and Justification’ [that is supposed to be sent to the Centre] required for us to attain ST status has been lying buried in their files from 2017. Even after our long agitation, we were unable to move that file.”

Alleging police brutality against Kudmi agitators during recent protests, he said, “Earlier we had called for ‘no vote to Trinamool’, and now, ahead of the elections, to remove the Trinamool from the Jangalmahal, our call is ‘vote for BJP’.”

The BJP, in turn, promised in its election manifesto that it would include Kudmali [the language of the Kudmis], and the language of the Rajbongshi community in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Seperatist identities

The Rajbongshi community, influential in 30 Assembly seats in north Bengal, has been at the centre of a political tug-of-war between the Trinamool and BJP, with each party trying to win the community over to its own side. Both parties must tread delicately on the issue as the Rajbongshis have been involved in two separatist movements—the Greater Cooch Behar movement and the Kamtapuri movement.

In 2023, the BJP nominated the controversial but influential leader of the Greater Cooch Behar Democracy Party, Anant Rai (aka Anant Maharaj), to the Rajya Sabha. Though Anant has been silent on the Greater Cooch Behar demand since then, he has often been seen to be leaning towards the Trinamool. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the BJP won 21 of the 30 Rajbongshi-dominated seats and managed to secure a lead again in 21 Assembly segments in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Trinamool is unlikely to make much of a dent here.

The other more famous and more volatile separatist movement from north Bengal is the Gorkhaland movement in the Darjeeling hills. The hill constituencies of Darjeeling, Kurseong, and Kalimpong sent BJP candidates to the Lok Sabha in four consecutive elections from 2009. From 2019, these constituencies showed, more clearly than ever before, a clear tilt towards the saffron party. The BJP  won Darjeeling and Kurseong in the 2021 Assembly election and narrowly lost Kalimpong to an Independent.

The BJP got huge leads in all three Assembly segments in the 2024 general election. Former BJP MLA from Darjeeling Neeraj Zimba told Frontline: “The recent speech by Home Minister Amit Shah, delivered on the last day of campaigning on April 21, has further swung the momentum in the BJP’s favour. He categorically stated that the political resolution of the Gorkhas would be carried out as per the wishes of the Gorkhas. That message struck home. The Darjeeling hills await a change in governance now.”

Splitting Hindu votes

The political scientist and psephologist Biswanath Chakraborty pointed out that “identity politics” came into prominence in Bengal from 2013 when Mamata Banerjee began to give stipends and honorariums to imams and muezzins and promised to include Muslims in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list. “The BJP capitalised on this and began to consolidate Hindu votes and got the result of that in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls [in which BJP’s vote share went up to 40 per cent]. To prevent further consolidation of Hindu votes, the Trinamool government set up Cultural and Development Boards on the basis of ethnic identity—like the boards for Tamang, Lepcha, Limbu, Bhutia communities in the hills. By recognising their ethnic identity, Mamata Banerjee tried to lure them away from the broader Hindu identity,” said Chakraborty.

Mamata also set up Cultural and Development Boards on the basis of the professions of certain marginalised communities like the Nepali-speaking Kamis who work as blacksmiths; the Sarki, who work in leather manufacturing; and the Damai community known to be tailors and musicians. In March, a month ahead of the elections, Mamata announced five new Cultural and Development Boards for the Munda (ST), Kora (ST), Dom (SC), Sadgope, and Kumbhakar (OBC) communities.

“These boards will protect their unique languages and traditions while ensuring better education, healthcare, and jobs. They will safeguard customary rights and bring further socio-economic growth. Since 2013, we have established many such boards for our weaker communities, ensuring their all-round development,” Mamata posted on social media.

According to the veteran political observer Biswajit Bhattacharya, one has to just study the Trinamool and BJP candidate lists to understand how the issue of identity is played out in Bengal’s electoral politics. “Earlier, the electoral importance of certain agrarian communities like the Gopes, Sadgopes, Mahishyas, never came to the fore in Bengal politics, even though together they account for around 15 per cent of the total population and are a factor in Bankura, Purbo Bardhaman, Birbhum, Hooghly, Malda, and Murshidabad. Though in the 2019 and 2021 elections they voted largely for the BJP, Mamata Banerjee’s overture of setting up a Cultural and Development Board for them may help her in securing some support. They want not just development, they also want representation in State politics, and hence both the Trinamool and the BJP have fielded candidates from their respective communities,” said Bhattacharya. He pointed out that being “middle-level” farmers, these communities wield considerable influence in the agricultural economy, particularly among those working for them.

Bagdi factor

While there are 68 reserved Assembly seats for the Scheduled Castes (SC), the economically backward Bagdi community, which is often bracketed in the SC category, are predominant in 16 seats across Bankura, Purulia, and Bardhaman districts. In 2021, the Trinamool won 9, and the BJP 7 of the Bagdi-dominated seats; but in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Trinamool won 13 of the seats, indicating a shift in preference. However, this time many political analysts believe it may be a close fight, as factional feuds within the Trinamool have weakened the party’s organisation.

On April 23, as the first phase of the two-phase Assembly elections took place in Bengal in 152 constituencies, many ethnic groups including Gorkhas, Rajbongshis, Adivasis, Kudmis, Bagdis, Gopes, and Sadgopes voted. Three Muslim-majority districts, Malda, Murshidabad, and Uttar Dinajpur also voted on April 23. In fact, the electoral fate of more than 100 seats in the first phase will be determined more by ethnic factors than anything else.

Matua fears

In the second phase scheduled on April 29, all eyes will be on the Matua community, which is a key factor in 21 seats in Nadia, North 24 Paraganas, and South 24 Paraganas. The Matuas, an SC community that migrated from Bangladesh, shifted its allegiance from the Trinamool to the BJP after the promise of citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

In the last Assembly elections, the BJP won 9 of the 21 seats; in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, it maintained a lead in all the Assembly segments it won in 2021.  However, despite the BJP’s assurances that the CAA guarantees them citizenship, the Matuas are anxious as thousands of names were deleted in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. In North 24 Paraganas alone, more than 36,000 names were deleted, of which 16,222 were from Gaighata constituency, where Thakurnagar, the headquarters of the Matua Mahasangha, is located.

Baruna Sikdar, 60, who migrated from Bangladesh in 2003, has been living in Thakurnagar ever since. After waiting for many years, she finally got her voter card in 2025 and looked forward to casting her vote for the first time in India. “I was so disappointed when my name was missing from the voter list. Everything seems very uncertain now,” said a distraught Baruna.

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Bikash Bala, a respected resident of Thakurnagar, admitted that prior to the SIR exercise, the BJP’s chances of winning in the Matua belt was higher than at present. “People are now worried. They were promised citizenship by the BJP, and all of a sudden many of them find their names deleted. This is bound to influence their voting,” Bala told Frontline.

The BJP, on its part, is trying to convince the Matua residents that they have nothing to fear. Talking to Frontline two weeks before the first-phase voting, Matua leader Subrata Thakur, the sitting BJP MLA from Gaighata, said: “After the adjudication list, we did whatever was required, and we are hoping that the majority of the names will be restored. Moreover, thousands have already got their citizenship through the CAA... But while cleaning a house, you may break some stuff... All the non-existent voters got removed, and some of our people got caught in that. We know that, and the BJP is doing its best.”

If the saffron party has been banking on the deletion of names through the SIR to give it an advantage in this election, it has perhaps also realised that the SIR as a weapon can be a double-edged sword cutting both ways.

The majority of West Bengal’s ethnic communities cast their vote on April 23. Now, it remains to be seen which of the political parties has been most convincing in its promise of development and protection of their cultural heritage.

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