Shantanu Thakur. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and Matua leader Shantanu Thakur’s recent remarks about Matua’s “toleration” of erasure of one million names during the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls has sparked a political spat between the saffron party and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), sparking clashes in the north of Matuagara4 heart2. Parganas on Wednesday (December 24, 2025).
“If 50 million Rohingyas, Bangladeshi Muslims and Pakistani Muslims are removed during the SIR exercise, while one million of our own people have to stop voting for a while, where are we going to get more?” Mr. Thakur was speaking at a BJP event in West Bengal’s Hanskhali-Garapota on Monday (December 22).
Speaking to the press later at the same event, the Bongaon Lok Sabha MP from the Matu constituency further said that if one lakh Matu names were deleted from the electoral roll during the SIR, then the community should make a “sacrifice” for their own security against “those who terrorized them”.
It is worth noting that the Matua community—a sect of Namashudra Hindus who migrated from the erstwhile East Pakistan (Bangladesh) to West Bengal after 1947—was seen as electorally inclined to the saffron party, with the BJP winning the Lok Sabha seat twice in a row.
Until a few days ago, the BJP leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, regularly allayed the community’s concerns about citizenship by assuring them of the same through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
On Wednesday (December 24), members of the community clashed with each other along party lines at their spiritual headquarters in Thakurnagar. The Trinamool faction claimed that its members were attacked by BJP supporters amid a flare-up of tension in the area.
“He said it was okay for one lakh Matuas to lose their votes so that 50 million alleged infiltrators could be removed. People from the community staged a protest today seeking answers as to why the BJP told them that asking for CAA in their camps with money and getting Hindu identity cards would protect their rights as voters,” Trinamool and Matujam Rajyacem Sabkur Thakur MP said on Thursday. 25).
When the SIR began in the state, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari urged the Matuas to apply for citizenship under the CAA at relief camps set up by the BJP and assured them that their names would appear in the final voter list. On the other hand, a section of Matuas led by Mamata Bala Thakur went on a hunger strike to oppose the SIR, claiming that the exercise would disenfranchise members of the community.
The Hindu had earlier reported that several relief camps had sprung up in Thakurnagar under BJP patronage where Rs 800 was charged cumulatively for online CAAV application along with necessary affidavits, Hindu certificates and Matua certificates.
However, on December 9, the Supreme Court noted that the granting of rights under the CAA would depend on the verification of the applicant’s claim of flight from persecution.
The TMC attacked Shantana Thakur in a social media post on Wednesday (December 24), accusing him of vacationing in London during the SIR enumeration phase.
“He publicly said it was acceptable for one lakh Matua names to be deleted. And now he is denying responsibility and refusing to answer for the deletion of Matua’s names from the draft voter list. Remember his name. Remember his false promises. Remember who NOT to elect in 2026,” the post read.
According to data from the draft electoral roll released in West Bengal by the Election Commission on 16 December, assembly constituencies with a large population of Matua saw a higher percentage of voters who failed to link with the 2002 electoral roll. These voters will be mandatorily called for a hearing under the SIR. These constituencies include Gaighata (14.5% unmapped) and Bagda (12.6% unmapped) in North 24 Parganas district and Kalyani (11.92% unmapped) and Haringhata (7.1% unmapped) in Nadia district. By comparison, the state average for unregistered voters is 3.9%.
Published – 24 Dec 2025 21:19 IST
