With the counting of votes in Lok Sabha elections 2024 progressing, Trinamool Congress (TMC) party is set to win in seven Matua-significant seats while BJP is on course to win in four such seats in the state of West Bengal, as per the latest Election Commission of India (ECI) data updated on 6:45PM.
Trends at 5:30 PM: TMC is ahead in six seats in Matua-significant seats - Durgapur, Bardhaman Purba, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, Basirhat and Jaynagar.
BJP is leading in five seats -- Maldaha Uttar, Raiganj, Cooch Behar, Balurghat and Bangaon seats in West Bengal.
Trends at 1:30 PM: TMC is ahead in seven seats in Matua-significant seats - Durgapur, Bardhaman Purba, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, Basirhat, Jaynagar and Balurghat.
BJP is leading in four seats -- Maldaha Uttar, Raiganj, Cooch Behar and Bangaon seats in West Bengal.
Trends at 12:30 PM: TMC is ahead in eight seats in Matua-significant seats - Durgapur, Bardhaman Purba, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Balurghat and Cooch Behar.
BJP is leading in three seats -- Maldaha Uttar, Raiganj and Bangaon seats in West Bengal.
Trends at 11:30 AM: TMC is ahead in eight seats in Matua-significant seats, while BJP is leading in three seats.
Trends at 10 AM: BJP is leading in five seats where Matua-significant seats, while TMC is leading in four seats.
In West Bengal, there are 11 constituencies where Matua communities who originally hail from Bangladesh will play a crucial role.
Matua Factor in West Bengal:
In 2019, BJP won seven of these Matua-significant seats with a 41.51% vote share, while TMC won four with 43.08% vote share. Congress and its allies such as CPM didn't win a single seat but cornered a 12.6% vote share.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the impact of the Matua shift was evident and constituencies like Barrackpore, Bongaon, and Ranaghat swung to the BJP, thanks to the support of the Matua community.
The Matuas, backward caste communities who originally hail from Bangladesh, faced religious persecution in their homeland. Around 2 crore Matuas flooded into West Bengal after partition and even after the 1971 Bangladesh war. Many of the Matuas even today do not have citizenship in West Bengal.
They have voting rights and other documentary evidence but lack full citizenship.
Matua votes are critical for the BJP to cripple the TMC in South Bengal.
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