Kamtapur State Demand Council exits election race, plans to back BJP in North Bengal
Telegraph | 17 April 2026
The Kamtapur State Demand Council (KSDC), which has been carrying out peace talks with the Centre along with Jibon Singha, the self-styled chief of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), over the demand of a separate Kamtapur state, has announced that it is withdrawing from the elections and will support the BJP in north Bengal.
Tapati Roy Mallick, the president of the KSDC, said on Thursday that the decision was made following an assurance by Union home minister Amit Shah that the Rajbanshi language would be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
“We had fielded 27 candidates (as Independents) in different seats of north Bengal. As the last date of withdrawal has passed, they cannot withdraw their nominations. However, we formally announce that we are withdrawing from the elections. Our candidates and supporters stopped campaigning from Wednesday and will campaign for the BJP candidates,” she said.
Jiban Singha, who heads the KLO, also affirmed that a message had been conveyed through the KSDC to the Rajbanshis across north Bengal and in other parts of the state to vote for the BJP.
Ahead of the Assembly elections in Assam and Bengal, multiple rounds of peace talks were held between the central government and Jiban Singha and Tapati Roy Mallick. A significant round of discussions took place in Delhi from December 29 to 31, 2025. However, the subsequent talks in Assam were postponed, and with no clear progress, the KSDC decided to field the 27 Independents.
During election campaigns in areas like Rajganj and Tufanganj, Shah reiterated that the BJP government would consider including the Rajbanshi and Kamtapuri languages in the Eighth Schedule after the elections.
Following this, Singha, Mallick, and mediators of the peace talks contacted Shah. Subsequently, the KSDC halted its campaign and began supporting the BJP.
Mallick said the remaining two demands — granting Scheduled Tribe status to the Koch and Kamtapuri communities and the separate state — would be taken up with the Centre after the elections.
Singha said over the phone that more than 20 rounds of peace talks had been held so far.