Matua Mahasangh Leader Shifts To Trinamool: BJP's Blunder, Mamata Banerjee's Gain

It is no secret that the Bengal unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been hobbled by a persistent crisis in its top ranks. 

Thursday’s defection by BJP MLA from Dakshin Ranaghat Assembly seat in Nadia district, Mukut Mani Adhikari, to the Trinamool Congress is a setback to the saffron party.

Adhikari, a medical practitioner, belongs to the Matua community that both the BJP and the Trinamool have been assiduously courting. He is the president of the Nadia unit of the All India Matua Mahasangh. 

The Matua community decides the electoral outcome in a number of assembly and Lok Sabha seats in North and South 24 Parganas and Nadia districts. 

The fact that the state BJP leadership was caught unawares by Adhikari’s defection reflects the communication gap between state BJP leaders who often pull in different directions. 

Adhikari, who has a considerable following in his community, was upset with his claim for the Lok Sabha ticket from Ranaghat being overlooked. 

He was the BJP’s first pick for the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat in 2019 and was even named the party candidate from that seat. Adhikari was, at that time, in state government service and attached to Bengal’s premier SSKM Hospital. 

Though he had resigned from state government service before the BJP named him as its Ranaghat Lok Sabha candidate, the state government was yet to accept his resignation. Hence, Adhikari could not contest and the BJP, instead, fielded Jagannath Sarkar. 

Adhikari contested and won the Dakshin Ranaghat Assembly seat that is part of the Ranaghat Lok Sabha constituency. 

He had been assured by the BJP central leadership at that time that he would be given the ticket from the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat in 2024. 

Over the past few weeks, he has been lobbying for the Lok Sabha ticket. Some state party leaders had assured him that his demand would be met since he was the party’s first choice for the seat in 2019 and is a leader of the Matua Mahasangh. 

Adhikari has been a BJP loyalist and has diligently participated in all party programmes. He came to be known as a hardworking legislator whose attendance has been above average. 

Adhikari was present on the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter’s public rally at Krishnanagar in Nadia district on 2 March (see his post on X).

That same evening, when the BJP announced its first list of candidates, he was severely disappointed to find that Jagannath Sarkar had been re-nominated from the seat. 

Adhikari made his disappointment known to state party leaders, including state president Sukanta Majumdar and leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari. 

According to a BJP MLA who is close to Adhikari, no one even bothered to speak to him and explain the reasons behind fielding Sarkar from Ranaghat once again. 

A senior BJP office-bearer who did not want to be named told Swarajya that Adhikari felt let down by the party leadership. “He also felt very insulted that no senior leader had bothered to reach out to him and explain why his claim for the party ticket for Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat was not considered even though he had been given an express assurance in the past by the party leadership that he would be given the Lok Sabha ticket in 2024,” said the BJP MLA. 

The reason Adhikari’s grievance remained unaddressed, said a senior BJP office-bearer, was the “pre-occupation of the state BJP leadership with the back-to-back visits of Prime Minister Modi to Bengal”. 

“All leaders were completely preoccupied with the PM’s visits and so couldn’t find time to speak to Dr Adhikari. But we hadn’t expected him to take such a drastic step,” said the party office-bearer. 

The Trinamool Congress leadership, in sharp contrast, appears quick-footed. As soon as news of Adhikari’s anger with the BJP leadership reached the ears of district Trinamool leaders, they conveyed it to party supremo Mamata Banerjee.

Banerjee took a quick call and asked her party colleagues to reach out to Adhikari with the promise that the Trinamool would give him the party ticket from Ranaghat. This happened on 4 March. 

Some BJP leaders got to know of the Trinamool’s offer to Adhikari and conveyed it to the state party leadership. But the BJP state leaders failed to act promptly. 

Adhikari, who was aware that the BJP state leadership had come to know of the Trinamool’s offer to him, waited in vain for Sukanta Majumdar, Suvendu Adhikari or any other leader to reach out to him. 

But when no call came to him, he made up his mind to accept the Trinamool’s offer. He reportedly conveyed his decision to the Trinamool leadership on Wednesday (6 March) evening. 

Thursday (7 March) saw Adhikari participating in a rally led by Banerjee in Kolkata. He was seen walking along and engaged in a long conversation with Abhishek Banerjee. 

With Adhikari beside her, Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of taking the Matuas for a ride by making a number of empty promises, including implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). 

Adhikari’s entry into the Trinamool Congress is a huge boost for the party in the Matua belt. The Trinamool has been struggling to reclaim the ground it lost to the BJP in the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat. 

Of the seven assembly segments under the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat, the BJP won five in 2019. The BJP has a lot of influence in the seat, thanks to the support it has been receiving from the Matuas. 

But with Adhikari leaving the party, this influence has been considerably eroded. A large section of Matuas could now shift allegiance to the Trinamool. 

Following Adhikari's departure, the BJP dug up dirt on him and went public with it: a complaint of domestic violence filed by his wife against him soon after their marriage. 

Leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari posted on X: “Look who is walking in the TMC Procession alongside Bhaipo, to observe International Women's Day !!! Mukut Mani Adhikari - Ranaghat South MLA He was accused of Domestic Violence by his Wife. The FIR was filed by his Wife on the 11th day of their marriage. Certainly qualifies as the 'Poster Boy' of TMC's Rally to honour Women”. 

This earned a quick riposte from the Trinamool Congress. State finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya wondered why BJP had kept Adhikari in the party after his wife made the accusations against him. 

Bhattacharya also wondered how Adhikari had become a villain after he joined the Trinamool when he shared the dais with Prime Minister Modi less than a week ago.

Suvendu Adhikari also ascribed a motive to the Dakshin Ranaghat MLA’s defection to the Trinamool. In another post on X on Thursday (7 March), Suvendu Adhikari contended that the state police had, on February 10 this year, filed a chargesheet against Mukti Mani Adhikari based on his wife’s complaint against him. 

Suvendu Adhikari hinted that the Dakshin Ranaghat MLA joined the Trinamool in order to save himself from punitive action by the state police. 

This mud-slinging on Mukut Mani Adhikari has likely sealed all chances of a rapprochement with him. The BJP MLA close to Mukut Mani Adhikari told Swarajya that despite joining the Trinamool, Mukut Mani was harbouring hopes that the BJP leadership would reach out to him and set matters right. 

“He completely identifies with the BJP’s core ideology and is not comfortable with the Trinamool’s minority appeasement and other policies that he has spoken out against so strongly. So a compromise could have been worked out and he could have returned to the party (the BJP),” the BJP MLA told Swarajya. 

The fact that such an option is no longer available reflects negatively on the state BJP leadership. Mukut Mani Adhikari will present a tough challenge to the BJP in the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat. If the BJP fails to retain it, the responsibility will lie with the group of senior BJP leaders in Bengal.