In Bengal’s Matua heartland, a family feud over a house triggers BJP-TMC spat

“I have never seen such things. Being a Union Minister and BJP MP, he along with his family members and supporters broke open the gate with hammers and entered Boro Maa’s room wearing shoes. If the BJP can do this to me, what happens to the common people?” Mamata Bala said. The West Bengal Police has now registered an FIR against Shantanu based on complaints by Mamata Bala.

But the BJP’s Bangaon MP insisted he had a right to the house as Devi’s grandson. “What is my relationship with Boro Maa? I am her grandson. Even I have the right to stay in her house. No law can take away this right from me. I requested (Mamata Bala) multiple times to open the gates. But if someone gives shelter to hooligans in this house, I have to look into it. She has been illegally occupying the entire property and even turning a portion into a TMC party office,” he said

Shantanu Thakur during poll campaign. (Image source: X/@Shantanu_bjp)

Targeting the BJP, TMC posted a video of the incident on X and wrote, “BJP’s hooliganism at its peak. Shocking visuals are coming from Bangaon where BJP candidate and leader (Shantanu Thakur), along with his goons carrying sharp objects and arms, are planning a violent attack on our Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Thakur’s residence.”

In response, state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar questioned why Mamata Bala had the right to stay in the house but not Shantanu. “There are two branches of the family and there may be a family feud. Mamata Bala Thakur is forcibly trying to establish her rights. Shantanu Thakur has the full right to stay in the house as well,” he said.

A decade-long tussle

Binapani Devi’s husband was Pramatha Ranjan Thakur, the great-grandson of Matua sect founder Harichand Thakur. After her death in March 2019, the power struggle in the Thakur family that had started years earlier intensified.

Given that the Matuas are an influential electoral group — according to some estimates, they number around 1.75 crore and are a crucial factor in the Lok Sabha constituencies of Bangaon, Barasat, Ranaghat, Krishnanagar, and Cooch Behar — the TMC and the BJP and before them, the Left Front, reached out to them over the years to seek their support. Shantanu Thakur’s father Manjul Krishna Thakur was a minister in the first TMC government. His elder brother Kapil Krishna Thakur, meanwhile, became the Bangaon MP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on a TMC ticket.

However, after the sudden death of Kapil Krishna in October 2014, a family feud began between his wife Mamata Bala and Manjul who wanted Subrata to get the TMC ticket for the Bongaon by-election. The TMC, however, picked Mamata Bala, splitting the Thakur family as Manjul Krishna and Subrata moved to the BJP. Mamata Bala won the bypoll even as Subrata finished third. Though Manjul Krishna returned to the TMC months later, he could not make further headway in the party.

In 2019, Shantanu got the BJP ticket from Bangaon and won, defeating his aunt Mamata Bala. He also took control of the Matua Mahasangha. The outfit decided that only a “true descendant” of Binapani Devi would head the body. This helped elevate Shantanu to the post of Sabhadhipati, replacing Mamata Bala who was neither related to Devi by blood nor had an heir to contest the post on her behalf.

In the 2019 polls, the Matuas are believed to have voted en masse for the BJP, with the party winning a record 18 Lok Sabha seats in the state. In the middle of the 2021 Assembly polls, Shantanu was part of Modi’s team during his visit to Bangladesh which included a trip to Orakandi, the birthplace of Harichand Thakur. However, the BJP lost several Matua-dominated Assembly seats in the districts of North 24 Parganas and Nadia.

To get back the Matua support, the BJP is banking on the Union government’s move to operationalise the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Matuas, most of whom do not have Indian citizenship, are among the biggest supporters of CAA and have pushed for its implementation since Parliament passed the law in December 2019. The TMC, however, has told Matuas not to apply for citizenship under CAA, alleging that they would be branded as “infiltrators” if they did so.