LS polls: Kamtapur Progressive Party to kickstart 'No Vote to BJP' campaign in north Bengal
Telegraph | 9 March 2024
The Kamtapur Progressive Party (KPP), which wields considerable influence among Rajbanshis in north Bengal, will launch a “No Vote to BJP” campaign on March 21 for ignoring the community's longstanding demand for a North Bengal state.
“The BJP has been betraying us for the past 10 years. They (BJP) had made several promises ahead of the elections but didn’t keep a single one. As the next Lok Sabha elections are around the corner, we have decided to hit the streets and campaign against the BJP so that people know that their promises are hollow. We would urge people not to vote for the party,” KPP vice-president Budharu Roy said here on Friday.
The KPP's announcement of the campaign against the BJP has come just a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to north Bengal. On Saturday, Modi will address a public meeting in Siliguri.
For the past few days, the KPP has been critical of the BJP. On Wednesday, KPP supporters demonstrated near the residence of Cooch Behar BJP MP and Union minister of state Nisith Pramanik at Bhetaguri in the town.
On March 21, the KPP will hold a march against the BJP in Siliguri, which will be followed by rallies in other parts of north Bengal.
KPP insiders said the decision to go all out against the BJP in the general election had been taken at a meeting of the party's central committee held at Shivmandir, on the outskirts of Siliguri, on Thursday.
KPP leaders have said Rajbanshis make up around 59 per cent of voters in north Bengal. The community is a decisive force in the Lok Sabha seats like Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Raiganj and Malda North.
Roy, the KPP vice-president, said the outfit had supported the BJP with the hope that its demands for the North Bengal state and the inclusion of the Rajbanshi language in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution would be fulfilled.
“The BJP not only ignored our demands but also failed to keep its other commitments like the establishment of an AIIMS in north Bengal, creation of a regiment called Narayani Sena (the erstwhile royal troops of Cooch Behar) in central forces and installation of a statue of Panchanan Barma (the most revered statesman of the Rajbanshi community),” he said.