West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit Thakurnagar, the spiritual headquarters of the Matua community in Bongaon subdivision of North 24 Parganas district bordering Bangladesh, on Tuesday and take out a 3-km roadshow before addressing a public meeting.
This will be the second time Ms. Banerjee will be taking to the streets against the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls since the exercise was rolled out in the State on November 4.
The Chief Minister’s visit assumes significance as the community, comprising Hindu Namasudras with roots in Bangladesh, is among groups of people apprehensive about the SIR in the State. Ahead of the 2026 Assembly election, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is trying to reach out to the minority community that voted for the BJP in the past two Lok Sabha polls. The TMC has recently gained ground in the region by defeating the BJP in the 2024 bypolls.
Since November 5, a section of members of the Matua community led by TMC Rajya Sabha member Mamata Bala Thakur has been staging a hunger strike at Thakurnagar. According to Ms. Mamata Bala, members of the community are concerned as the Election Commission is using the 2002 voters’ list as the base for the SIR.
