Denied chopper, CM drives to Matua heartland, slams SIR
Times of India | 26 November 2025
Kolkata: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's foray into the Matua heartland of Thakurnagar on Tuesday had an unexpected deviation from the written script but packed enough ammo and drama to indicate that the battle for the Matua votes in Bengal's Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts would be a hard-fought one.
The private chopper that was supposed to take Banerjee to Thakurnagar, about 65 km from Kolkata, was "suddenly" found to be without the required insurance papers a couple of hours before she was supposed to take off. So Banerjee drove to Thakurnagar, in North 24 Parganas, taking about a couple of hours and stopping en route at several places to interact with people. She reached the rally site around 2.40 pm.
"They tried to stop me from reaching you," Banerjee told the thousands of people who had come to hear her speak against the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls. "I haven't used a helicopter for 7-8 months. I travel by car. Our govt has a helicopter. Suddenly, news came that the helicopter cannot go. I found it quite amusing. The elections haven't even started, but problems have already started. In a way, it was good because travelling by road allowed me to connect with the people," Banerjee said.
The CM warned BJP against "playing games with her".
"Use all the agencies and spend as much money as you want. Do whatever you want, take away my helicopter, barricade my route; I will still find my way," she said.
The CM said the situation would be "catastrophic" after the publication of the draft voters list on Dec 9. "Ram will become Shyam and Jadu will become Madhu… And now they (read BJP) are using AI. They are creating an AI Mamata, so that the real Mamata won't be allowed to vote. The artificial has become the real. AI is a kind of robot, whatever you tell it to do, it will do. This is BJP's new plan," the CM said.
Making it clear that neither she nor her party is trying to stop SIR, Banerjee said, "We never stopped the SIR. But an SIR takes three years. We have only demanded that no genuine voter's name is deleted. The public elects a govt, but now the system is changing. Election Commission will decide who gets to choose the govt. It (EC) is supposed to be an impartial body, not BJP's commission," she said. "Today they are saying SIR can't be linked to Aadhaar card, PAN card, Lakshmir Bhandar certificate, Swasthya Sathi card. Only BJP is Yes Sir, Yes Papa."
Banerjee said she hasn't yet filled the SIR form, but urged all to fill and submit it. "I am asking our workers to help the people (fill the form)... The form has been printed in English, but I doubt how many babus there can speak proper English. When even educated people are making mistakes while filling the form, how can a rickshawpuller or a tea-seller fill it properly?" the CM said.
"Three BLOs have died, one died in an accident. Till Monday, 35-36 persons have died due to the SIR fear. One of them, Rinku, even blamed EC in her suicide note. Yet you keep rolling out SIR with brute force. The BLOs are being unable to upload the forms properly, there is not even proper internet (arranged for them)," she said.
"Don't be afraid… Don't even think of taking your lives. Life is too precious. I am your paharadaar, not zamindar," Banerjee said during her 35-minute speech in Thakurnagar, part of the Bongaon assembly constituency.
The BJP won the Bongaon Lok Sabha constituency in 2024 and many of the assembly constituencies in the region, where the Matuas have a sizeable presence, in the 2021 assembly elections.
The first family of the Matuas is evenly split into two camps, with junior Union minister Shantanu Thakur being BJP's MP from Bongaon and Mamata Bala Thakur a cabinet member in the state govt. (The Matuas are a Scheduled Caste group, spread over Bengal and Bangladesh, and wield considerable influence in several assembly seats close to the India-Bangladesh border in Nadia and North 24 Parganas).
In Thakurnagar, Banerjee led a 2.5-km march, which started at Chandpara Bazar around 3.30 pm and concluded at the Dhakuria High School ground near Thakurbari, the spiritual centre of the Matuas, around 4.10 pm. Thousands of residents, including a large number of Matuas, lined the route, turning the march into a massive public outreach event for the CM.
Excitement ran high, particularly among Matuas, as men, women and children thronged the streets to greet Banerjee. Many were seen embracing the CM or touching her feet. Banerjee reciprocated warmly, often stopping to hug supporters and lifting children in her arms.
A significant number of Matuas, who have come from Bangladesh over the years, do not have their names on the 2002 electoral list and are living in fear of losing their citizenship after the SIR.
The CM sought to punch holes into BJP's campaign pitch that the Matuas who lack the documents to pass the SIR test could apply for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Reading out from the CAA form, Banerjee said, "They are deceiving you, and there should be severe punishment." The CAA form, she said, requires the applicants to state that they are from Bangladesh.
Referring to the recent Bihar elections, Banerjee said the opposition there failed to realise BJP's game plan. "Poor fellows, they could not put up a decent fight. But we have seen BJP a lot... They plan to turn Bengal to Gujarat but they don't know that they will lose Gujarat in the next elections… I have decided to tour India extensively after the assembly elections (here). If you strike, you'll have to endure the counterstrike."