BJP’s many voices: While Suvendu says ‘no Matua name will be deleted’, Shantanu urges Prez to stop disenfranchisement
Times of India | 8 January 2026
Kolkata: On a day leader of opposition in Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari tried to allay fears in the Matua heartland of Bongaon, his party colleague and junior Union minister Shantanu Thakur, with representatives of the BJP-led faction of All India Matua Mahasangha, met President Droupadi Murmu and sought her intervention and stop the disenfranchisement of Matuas during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal.
"Voters belonging to the Matua community and members of the Scheduled Caste are being selectively deleted from the voters' list. There are many assembly constituencies where the Matua community does not have the constitutional right to cast their votes, although they constitute 40-45% of the population in those areas," Matua Mahasangha general secretary Sukhendra Nath Gain wrote in the letter handed to the President on Wednesday. Sources said last month, during his meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah, Thakur had raised concerns about Matuas losing their voting rights in the SIR.
Meanwhile, in his Bongaon meeting, Adhikari reassured community members that "no Matua names will be deleted" from voter list. "Have faith in PM Narendra Modi. Centre is concerned about Matuas. That is why certificates under CAA are being issued. There is no need to worry, as no name will be deleted," he said.
"The chief minister has opposed the CAA and even made a mockery of it in public meetings. However, the Election Commission has recognised CAA certificates as valid proof of citizenship. Those who did not apply under the CAA are facing trouble now," Adhikari added, claiming that thousands had already received citizenship under the CAA.
In New Delhi, the delegation also alleged that Matua voters were being subjected to intimidation, pressure and administrative negligence. "As a result, they are being deprived of the right to vote," it said. The delegation urged President Murmu to set up a Matua development board.
"We are making every effort for the development of the Matua community — from granting citizenship to ensuring their permanent rehabilitation," Thakur said in New Delhi.
The delegation also claimed that more than 90% of the population of Little Andaman is composed of Matuas. It proposed naming the island after Matua religious and cultural icons Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur.