Midnapore
Two significant developments took place on Thursday (June 8) in the State — the politically crucial panchayat polls were announced and a dozen Adivasi organisations together hit the streets to register their opposition to any move to grant Kurmis the Scheduled Tribe status.
The Kurmis, for their part, had a couple of months ago enforced a prolonged rail blockade to press for their demand.
With the announcement of the single-phase rural polls, to be held on July 8 and results to be declared on July 11, there is much activity happening in several quarters.
Given the large scale violence in 2018, the Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the West Bengal State Election Commission to hold the polls in a peaceful and fair manner. In fact, it also asked the SEC to think about deploying Central forces during the polls, scheduled to be held on July 8, and increase the duration of filing nominations.
The opposition Congress and the BJP had moved the HC seeking deployment of Central forces and more than the stipulated seven-day time for filing nominations to the over 60,000 seats.
For the parties though, engaging both the Kurmis and the tribals holds the key to their electoral prospects.
Not without reason, Kurmis have a sizable pollution in at least five districts in Bengal. They will play a decisive role in the rural polls in Bankura, Purulia, and West and East Midnapore.
Kurmis constitute around 10 to 12 percent of the total population but the community claims they are over 20 percent and were registered as Scheduled Tribe till 1931.
In West Bengal, Kurmis constitute the single largest population in Jangalmahal. The community, whose population is estimated to be 50 lakh in the State, voted for the Trinamool Congress in the last Assembly elections. The BJP could have fared better had it not suffered due to the Kurmi anger in Jhargram, West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura. But the BJP made significant inroads into tribal-dominated villages across Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Jhargram, Purulia and parts of West Midnapore and even Birbhum, which had a large number of uncontested seats in the 2018 Panchayat polls.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently made a move to recognize Sari and Sarna as separate religions, as demanded by the tribals, through a motion in the State Assembly. This, observers said, was to nullify the anger of the Adivasis against her move to put up Yashwant Sinha against Droupadi Murmu in the presidential elections. It had put her on the backfoot with the BJP labelling her anti-tribal.
Kurmi leaders are, however, yet to decide on their stand on panchayat polls. “We have been equidistant from all political parties. None of them strongly stood by us,” said Gosto Mahto of Lodha Suli, a youth leader of the community.
The community’s leaders expressed their dissatisfaction with BJP, Trinamool Congress and even the Left during their road and rail blockade agitation in April because the parties were not clear on their tribal status demand.
“We will decide on which way to go in rural polls in a meeting shortly. Our stand will be clear by next weekend,” said Nandan Mahto of Khema Suli, the epicentre of Kurmis’ agitation in April.
The day the panchayat poll was announced in Bengal, Kurmis staged a protest in Bengal against the arrest of their community members in connection with the attack on the convoy of senior Trinamool leader and MP Abhishek Banerjee near Lodha Suli in Jhargram last month. State Forests Minister Birbaha Hansda and his driver suffered injuries in the assault on May 26.
A day after the attack, Banerjee absolved Kurmis of the attack on his cavalcade. He instead accused the BJP of organising the assault on is cavalcade. So did Mamata Banerjee.
But in sharp contrast to their words, police swung into action against Kurmis and arrested some youth leaders. “We were aghast after the arrests. We blocked roads on June 8 in its retaliation and apologise to the hassled commuters,” said Rajan Mahto from Debra in West Midnapore district, adding that Trinamool is maintaining a double standard about Kurmis.
Bengal Leader of Opposition, Shubhendu Adhikari of BJP, seemed sympathetic towards the arrested Kurmi community members. He even visited some of their homes just before the panchayat polls were announced.
But Kurmis are not much impressed with BJP either. BJP vice-president and MP Dilip Ghosh earlier ruffled feathers of the community. After some Kurmi leaders allegedly ransacked his house in Kharagpur, he had said he would teach them a lesson.
“None of the political parties have been sympathetic to us. It may hurt them in rural polls,” cautioned Annop Mahto, a senior leader of Kurmis.
The tribals, for their part, are also not happy with the Mamata dispensation despite her Sari and Sarna move. A group of 12 tribal organistions jointly launched a State-wide 12-hour ‘bandh’ on Thursday, alleging that the West Bengal government was trying to distort the history of tribals and out to include non-tribal people in Scheduled Tribe category.
They blocked roads disrupting traffic movement in several districts like Bankura, Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur. Given the scenario, parties will have to walk the tight rope in the coming polls and the big battle of Lok Sabha in 2024.
