Matua Math In Focus As TMC, BJP Rivals Hold Closed-Door Talks In Thakurnagar Ahead Of Bengal Polls

Last Updated:March 10, 2026, 09:34 IST

The Matua community is considered decisive in around 30 Assembly seats and plays a swing role in over 40 constituencies.

West Bengal witnessed a political storm on Saturday after President Droupadi Murmu publicly expressed hurt and disappointment over the state government changing the venue of the International Santal Conference in Darjeeling district and not adhering to the desired protocol to receive her.

The development even prompted a strong reaction from the Prime Minister, with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership launching a counter-attack on the BJP.

Amid the political sparring between the ruling TMC and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two key leaders from rival camps held a closed-door meeting in Thakurnagar–the epicentre of the Matua community, around 75 km from Kolkata.

Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and the BJP’s prominent Matua face in Bengal, Santanu Thakur, met TMC MLA Mukutmani Adhikari, who had earlier defected from the BJP and is now one of the ruling party’s Matua leaders.

The meeting took place at Thakurbari, the residence of the Matua first family. The Matua community is considered decisive in around 30 Assembly seats and plays a swing role in over 40 constituencies.

Sources said the meeting was held in the ground-floor office of the BJP minister and lasted nearly 30 minutes. No one else was present during the discussion.

A BJP source told News18 that Mukutmani Adhikari is learnt to have expressed his “interest" in returning to the saffron fold and contesting again from Ranaghat South, the Assembly seat he currently represents as a TMC legislator. However, the source added that Santanu Thakur did not make any commitment, citing “cadre sentiments against Mukutmani Adhikari for leaving the party at a time of crisis."

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Adhikari had quit the BJP while serving as an MLA and contested as a TMC candidate from the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat. He lost to BJP’s Jagannath Sarkar. Subsequently, he won the by-election from the Ranaghat Dakshin Assembly seat on a TMC ticket.

According to sources, several BJP leaders and workers in the Ranaghat organisational district are opposed to his possible return, with some expressing their anger on social media.

For now, both leaders have described the meeting as a “courtesy visit." Mukutmani Adhikari said, “I have bought a new car and hence brought it for puja purpose…There’s no political connection to it. Anyone can come to Thakurbari." Santanu Thakur also backed the car puja explanation but kept the possibility of a political move open-ended, saying, “He will be better placed to answer that."

With the West Bengal Assembly elections approaching, the meeting has sparked speculation over a possible political realignment within the Matua community.

The Matuas, largely drawn from the Namasudra Dalit population that migrated from present-day Bangladesh, have emerged as a significant political force in the state. Centred around Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas and guided by the legacy of Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur, the community wields considerable electoral influence in districts such as North 24 Parganas, Nadia and parts of North Bengal. With one of their key demands—the Citizenship Amendment Act—fulfilled by the BJP, which counts Santanu Thakur among its prominent Matua leaders, the community has been seen as leaning towards the saffron party.

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