The term “subaltern Hindutva” refers to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) outreach to marginal communities like Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and make them a part of their Hindutva framework. In the earlier days, the BJP was known as a party of upper castes. But, the saffron party knew that a division of caste can divide their Hindu vote bank. So, it made huge efforts in reaching out to SCs and STs with considerable success.
In light of corruption allegations against Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislators and the recent developments in Sandeshkhali, the BJP was expecting to increase its tally in West Bengal in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. But their seat share came down from 18 in 2019 to 12 in 2024. As per assembly segment leads, the BJP was leading in 121 constituencies in 2019 which dropped to 90 this year. Areas with significant SC and ST population were not an exception to this trend. The BJP could not retain Cooch Behar, the seat with highest Rajbanshi population, or Jhargram, a seat with a considerable ST population.
Rise of BJP in West Bengal
West Bengal was considered a barren land for the BJP. Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival in national politics, the party had not made any significant advances in the region on their own. In the 2014 elections, BJP won two Lok Sabha seats in the state with a 17% vote share. Interestingly, in this election, the tribal communities in northern Bengal backed them with the party leading in tribal dominated assembly segments like Kalchini, Nagrakata, Madarihat and Phansidewa.
In 2019, the BJP emerged as a formidable force in West Bengal’s politics with 18 Lok Sabha constituencies under its belt and a clean sweep in North Bengal with seven out of eight seats. With overwhelming support of the tea tribes and Rajbanshi communities, the BJP won seats like Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar. In South Bengal, Matuas became another major vote bank which helped them win Ranaghat and Bangaon. Tribal communities in South Bengal did not disappoint the saffron party either. They won Jhargram and Bishnupur, both seats with large SC populations. Out of the ten SC reserved parliamentary constituencies, the BJP won five.
This suggests that the national party’s inroads in West Bengal, especially in the North and western parts of the state, were the result of SC and ST communities’ support.
Even in 2021, the BJP retained its stronghold in North Bengal with the support of Rajbanshi voters while Matuas in Nadia and some parts of North 24 Parganas firmly stood with BJP. But the party’s popularity amongst the tribals had begun declining. In Jhargram district, TMC won all four assembly constituencies. In Alipurduar, BJP was able to claim a five-0 victory but the margins came down.
Also read: Is the BJP Losing Momentum in Bengal?
In 2024, a clear sign of the BJP’s decline amongst SCs and STs is visible. Among the 79 assembly constituencies reserved for SC and STs in West Bengal, the BJP was leading on 42. This has come down to 33 seats in 2024. Among the 15 ST reserved seats, BJP’s lead on 12 dropped to six this year.
There are 52 assembly constituencies in West Bengal where SCs makeup more than 35% of the electorate. If the result of these 52 seats is combined then BJP’s vote share stood at 46.9% in 2019. This vote share has come down to 45% in 2024. The fall was steeper in ST dominated seats. There are 14 assembly constituencies in West Bengal where STs are make up more than 25% of the electorate. If the result of these 14 seats is combined then BJP’s vote share stood at 50.5% in 2019, which dropped to 45.2% in 2024.
However, SCs and STs are divided into many sub-groups in the state, which leads to variations in their voting patterns.
Rajbanshis
According to the 2011 Census, SCs account for around 23.5% of the state’s population. Rajbanshis, are the largest sub-category of SCs in West Bengal. According to the 2001 census, they form 18.4% of the total SC population in the State. They mostly reside in North Bengal. Banking on their support, BJP was able to perform exceedingly well in 2019. In this election, BJP won 6 out of 8 Lok Sabha seats in North Bengal but their victory margins came down considerably. Sukanta Majumdar, BJP’s state president, won by a mere 10,386 votes. In Jalpaiguri, BJP’s victory margin came down to 86,000 from 1,84,000 in 2019. Similarly, in Alipurduar, BJP’s winning margin came down to 75,000 from 2,43,000 in 2019.
Most importantly, Cooch Behar, the seat with highest Rajbanshi population, saw a major turn around with Minister of State Nisith Pramanik losing to TMC’s Jagadish Chandra Basunia, indicating their waning support for the BJP.
There are enough reasons for the community to be unhappy over BJP’s performance. In February 2021, from a public meeting at Rashmela Ground in Cooch Behar, Union home minister Amit Shah had promised to make a statue of Panchanan Barma, at a cost of Rs 200 crore, which was never fulfilled. The promise to include the Narayani Battalion in armed forces also remained unfulfilled. On the other hand, the West Bengal government formed a Narayani Battalion in West Bengal Police.
There is a section of Rajbanshi and Kamtapur voters who demand a separate state for them. BJP had entertained their demand in the past and also gave Rajya Sabha nomination to their leader but prior to this election, BJP made it clear that there will be no division of the state.
Matuas
Matuas, also known as Namasudras, are the second largest sub-category of SCs in West Bengal, comprising 17.4% of the entire SC population in the state. They mostly reside in districts like Nadia or North 24 Parganas. Repeating its past success, BJP was able to retain Bangaon and Ranaghat with comfortable margins this time.
This is one segment where the TMC has been unable to make a dent and the BJP continues to enjoy Matua voters’ support. There was a big demand for the implementation of CAA amongst Matuas. BJP promised to implement it and got electoral dividends in 2019 as well as 2021. Prior to the 2024 election, it was actually implemented. Despite confusion about the application process, which required a series of past documents that can be tough to collect, the election results suggest that there is barely any resentment towards BJP amongst the Matuas. Shantanu Thakur has emerged to become a strong Matua face for BJP who has won from Bangaon twice in a row. TMC on the other hand has failed to come up with a strong Matua face.
Also read: BJP and the Art of Selling Hindutva Nationalism to Bengal
Poundras
Poundras are the fifth largest sub-category of SCs in West Bengal. As per the 2001 Census, they account for 12% of the entire SC population in the state. They mostly reside in coastal areas of North and South 24 Parganas. TMC won with huge margins this time in Joynagar and Mathurapur constituencies where Poundras live in large numbers.
Unlike other SC groups, Poundras voters have been in favour of the TMC for a long time. But this time, the party was trailing behind in Sandeshkhali where Poundras are in large numbers. Local issues of land grabbing and arrest of TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh appeared to have impacted the results in Sandeshkhali. But BJP was unable to replicate this success elsewhere, which further indicates the dominance of local issues in this election.
Bagdi and Bauris
Bagdis and Bauris are two distinct sub-categories of SCs in West Bengal. Combined, they constitute about 21% of the total SC population in the state as per the 2001 Census. They mostly reside in districts of Purba Bardhaman, Bankura and Hooghly.
Last time, the BJP won both seats of Bankura district – Bankura and Bishnupur. This time, the BJP lost Bankura but won Bishnupur with a thin margin of 5,567 votes. In Bardhaman Purba constituency, TMC won with an increased margin. BJP had high hopes of winning Arambagh this time as they had led in this constituency as per the results of 2021 elections. But, to the BJP’s disappointment, TMC’s Mitali Bag emerged victorious. This is one section where TMC continues to grow with each subsequent election and the saffron party is finding it tough to retain their votes.
Tribals
Tribals make up around 5.8% of the entire population of West Bengal according to the 2011 Census. As already mentioned, tribal communities were the earliest voters of BJP in the state.
Amongst the tribals in North Bengal, where tea garden workers are in large numbers, BJP’s vote share is coming down with each subsequent election and TMC is making gains. TMC’s welfare schemes for tea garden workers and increase in their daily wage seems to be working , but it is still trailing behind BJP in this section.
Amongst the tribal community residing in South Bengal, mostly in Jhargram or Purulia, there were visible signs of resentment against the BJP in 2021 itself. This time, they lost the Jhargram Lok Sabha and somehow managed to retain Purulia. Here, TMC gained the dividend of making better roads and infrastructure and promoting these places as a tourist destination.
A common thread
A quick summary of 2024 election results would suggest that BJP’s support amongst SCs and STs has come down considerably over the last five years. Although they have held on to Matua, Rajbanshi and tea tribal belts, BJP has been outdone by the TMC amongst Poundras, Bagdis, Bauris or and non-tea tribes.
TMC’s success in the state is largely linked to their series of welfare schemes. It is pertinent to note that SCs and STs are mostly people who live at the margins with weak economic backgrounds. Therefore, they can become the ultimate beneficiaries who can gain from these schemes.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s flagship scheme, Lakshmir Bhandar, used to provide Rs. 1,000 per month to SC and ST women and was increased to Rs. 1,200 before this election. This seems to have worked amongst several SC and ST groups. On the other hand, Rajbanshis and Matuas are relatively well off. Moreover, as they share borders with Bangladesh, the politics of polarisation works more effectively.
BJP’s narrative of Ram temple clearly did not work this time. Hence, their dream of subaltern Hindutva is far from reality in West Bengal, as local issues dominate over religious concerns.
Spandan Roy Basunia is a student at NUJS Kolkata.
