Ahead of WB Assembly polls, BJP-TMC eye Matua and refugee votes, offer sops to woo them

In a run to the 2021 Assembly Elections in West Bengal, every political party in the fray to contest elections are eyeing to woo voters of the state.

In a bid to get the refugee votes, now WB Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has granted land rights to 25,000 refugee families living in the state.

Mamata Banerjee has assured that a total of 1.25 lakh families would be given the land rights. She further said that the land deed will be without any conditions, as the announcement on this was made a year ago.

Banerjee also allotted 10 crore rupees and 5 crore rupees grant for the Matua Development Board and Namashudra Development Board respectively.

'Today, we are giving 25,000 land right documents to the refugees. A total of 1.25 lakh refugee families would be given land rights in the days to come,' she said at a programme at the secretariat.

'This land right document will act as proof that you (the recipients) are a citizen of this country. No one can take away your citizenship,' she said.

The Chief Minister was interacting with representatives of different communities, folk and traditional artistes where she formally started handing over pattas to the refugees, many of them representing backward communities.

The development came just ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's two-day visit to the state.

Further the MSME sector has plans to promote the Dokra artists of the state. They are being brought into Sasthya Sathi of 5 lakh rupees for medical assistance. This card can be used for Vellore and AIIMS Delhi. 

Both Bharatya Janata Party and the ruling TMC are trying to woo the Matua community. Mamata has announced the Matua development board to be formed for the Matuas all around Bengal. 

The West Bengal Chief Minister also took a dig at the BJP and said those who are not aware of the ground realities in the state only tour it before elections and try to befool the people.

Meanwhile after spending a night in Kolkata, Amit Shah on Thursday will lunch with a tribal family at Bankura. On Friday, he will share a meal at a Matua home in Kolkata.

The Matua community, originally from erstwhile East Pakistan, wants citizenship under the new Citizenship Amendment Act. They voted BJP in 2019 and their young Matua MP, Santanu Thakur, has been lately complaining about the delay in the implementation of the Act.

By lunching with a Matua family, Amit Shah will try to respond to their grievances and puts CAA firmly on Bengal's electoral map.