New political dynamics in south Bengal’s forested Maoist region: is Trinamool Congress losing ground? Is BJP becoming the Maoists’ new friend?
A subtle, but significant change is taking place in the politics of West Bengal’s Jangalmahal – the forested regions of Purulia, West Midnapore, Bankura and Jhargram districts in the south-western part of the state.
A group with an uncanny similarity with the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) has now been formed in Jangalmahal, headed by tribal leaders.
Ten years after the formation of the PCPA, tribal people of the region in the Jhargram police district area have come together under the banner of Adivasi Samanwaya Mancha (ASM). It includes Santhal, Bhumij and a section of Kurmi population of the region. Dhamal Marandi, who was once part of the PCPA, now heads ASM. Marandi was in jail like many PCPA leaders and was released in 2013, two years after Trinamool Congress came to power in the state. PCPA’s top leader, Chhatradhar Mahato, continues to be in prison – he was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Lakshiram Singh Sardar from the ASM, panchayat member of Binpur II area of Belpahari, said: “We have no connection with the Maoists. We are participating in electoral politics so that the voices of tribal people can be heard. We are fighting for development.”
The Background
The origin of PCPA’s formation dates back to November 2, 2008, when the then chief minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, narrowly escaped an ambush by the Maoists near Salboni in West Midnapore district.
Bhattacharjee was there to lay the foundation stone for a steel plant of the Jindal Steel Works and there was an IED blast on the road taken by his car and vehicles of other ministers shortly after they had passed by. In their attempt to hound out those behind the blast, police raided the homes of innocent tribal people, and what followed was a series of high-handedness in the name of police action, and a people’s forum, PCPA was born to protest the atrocities. Roads were dug up, police were denied entry, bows, arrows, sickles were out and government vehicles were set on fire. The area went beyond the reach of the administration for months.
Between 2008 and 2011, the PCPA became a frontal organisation of the Maoists, and the Trinamool Congress had an alleged hobnobbing with the organisation that helped the Trinamool gain ground in the region.
In 2013 panchayat (rural) polls, Trinamool Congress fared extremely well. Mamata Banerjee’s government spent Rs 270 crore in 2016-2017 and Rs 736 crore in 2017-18 through Paschimanchal Unnayan Parshad under the state government. Schemes and development projects in backward regions of 74 blocks of five districts in the south-western part of the state were implemented. Roads and bridges were built, and the number of beneficiaries in schemes such as Kanyashree, are many.
Yet, in the recently concluded panchayat elections, where the ruling Trinamool Congress got 34 per cent seats uncontested and won over 90 per cent of the seats in the state, the party was unable to field candidates in several areas under the Belpahari police station area of Jhargram, which has been a Maoist hotbed since the 1980s. The party performed poorly even in areas from where ministers in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet have been elected.
In areas such as Simulpal and Ergoda, BJP and Independent candidates have done better than the Trinamool Congress. The gram panchayats are likely to be formed by these Independent candidates from the ASM and the BJP.
What are the reasons behind such a major change?
Tribal people say they have always been exploited by mainstream political parties. Even when tribal leaders have become part of the government, they too haven’t done justice to the demands of their people. The Kurmi community, which has a population of 50 lakh in West Bengal, have been demanding inclusion under Scheduled Tribes. They were taken out of the list – “unfairly” they say – in 1931, and are now under Other Backward Classes (B category). The Kurmi leaders say the Bengal government has not looked at their interest. On September 20, 2017 and again on March 6, 2018, the Adivasi Kurmi Samaj has taken to demonstrations and protests in Jhargram.
While Mamata Banerjee has written to the Centre twice on this, the Kurmis’ demands have not yet been met with.
A delegation of 15 Kurmi leaders will be in Delhi and are trying to meet BJP president Amit Shah, union tribal development minister Juwel Oraon and President Ram Nath Kovind to place their demands. “Jharkhand BJP MP Ram Tahal Chowdury is helping us get the appointments with senior BJP leaders in Delhi,” Rajesh Mahato, secretary of the Adibasi Kurmi Samaj said.
The fact that the BJP’s Central leadership is taking interest in the Kurmis is itself significant. It is being assumed that the BJP will try to back the demands in order to gain their support.
Also, even as there has been a flush of funds for tribal areas, the money hasn’t percolated to all those it was meant for.
Under the backdrop of the Trinamool’s poor performance in the panchayat polls and the changing political situation in Jangalmahal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has planned a visit to Jhargram on May 29.
There is neither any connection nor clash between the Adibasi Kurmi Samaj and the ASM. The Kurmi community though, forms a majority of the tribal people in the region.
Are Maoists backing the ASM?
It is difficult to say if Maoists are backing the ASM. But there are uncanny similarities between what had taken place during the early days of the formation of PCPA (in 2008-09) and the way ASM is functioning now.
One, ASM is not a recognised political party. They are fielding independent candidates, and haven’t allowed other political parties to either field candidates or to let them campaign in the area. This is a Maoist style of functioning or may be said to be deeply influenced by the Maoists (much of this technique has been used by mainstream political parties too – the Left when it was in power in the state, followed by the Trinamool Congress now). The Maoists never have recognised outfits – they ally and back “frontal” organisations.
Two, those who have once been with PCPA are now said to be either part of or close to the ASM.
Three, the Maoists usually boycott the voting procedure every time. This time, they haven’t. The ASM candidates were “allowed” to campaign in the area.
But, as mentioned above, the ASM denies any association with the Maoists.
The future dynamics
The Left parties have always dominated the politics of Jangalmahal during 34 years of their rule in Bengal, except for the presence of Jharkhand Party at the grassroots level in some areas. Between 2008 and 2011, the Left kept losing ground, and the Trinamool Congress along with the PCPA started dominating Jangalmahal politics. As has been observed elsewhere, the ruling party, opposition and the Maoists have a unique dynamics in shaping the politics of those regions in the country where Maoists have a presence.
The Trinamool Congress has always denied it had connections with the PCPA or the Maoists in Jangalmahal.
In a situation where BJP is now steadily increasing its support base in Bengal and fast emerging as the main opposition party in the state, it is not too surprising to see them trying to woo the tribals, especially the Kurmis who dominate the region, to try and gain ground in the forested regions of south Bengal.
The Maoists naturally come in the picture. Since state and Central forces started operation in the area in 2009, Maoists were either arrested or made to surrender. Slowly but surely, the Maoists from Bengal left for neighbouring Jharkhand, Bihar or Chhattisgarh. Now, there is an opportunity for their return, and they are looking to use an opportunity to find an ally among a powerful opposition. The BJP as the ambitious opposition in Bengal, is likely to gravitate towards the Maoists too, and thus, a new “secret” alliance between the Maoists and the BJP is not ruled out in the Jangalmahal region. .
BJP block president of Binpur II, Dinabandhu Karmakar, said: “We have no nexus with the Maoists. Our main position is that we are against the Trinamool Congress, and we have tied up with the ASM at the panchayat level to fight the ruling party.”