West Bengal polls 2026: Amid voter row, Nadia’s Matua belt shows BJP leanings, minimal deletions

Majhdia (Nadia): Amid furore over Matua voter deletions following the special intensive revision and adjudication in various assembly constituencies of West Bengal's Nadia district, ET travelled to the border villages of Nadia's Majhdia. Here, villagers cross the fence daily to reach their farmlands at the zero point for cultivation.

This Matua-dominated area is home to Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. The border here was fenced in 1998. Residents say the fencing has protected farmers, cattle and crops from robbers and butchers who used to enter from Bangladesh and steal cattle and paddy.

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Majhdia falls under the Krishnaganj (SC) constituency. Krishnaganj is set for a four-way contest, with BJP's Sukanta Biswas, a school teacher, up against Trinamool's Samir Kumar Poddar, Congress' Sankar Kumar Sardar, and CPI-M's Archana Biswas.

Majhdia villagers are mostly Hindu refugees who entered India after Partition and during the 1971 conflict. A BJP-dominated area, with a BJP MLA, the Matua community here hopes that BJP comes to power in West Bengal. In the marginalised communities dominated by farmers, residents claim their names were included in electoral lists after SIR with minimal deletions.

Rebarani Das, 72, told ET that her family's roots are in Jashor, Bangladesh. Though she has never visited Bangladesh, her son goes to the zero point daily to cultivate farmland.

Nitish Biswas, a resident of Dharampur village, who was sorting through piles of onions from his farm, told ET, "I enter the zero point by showing and submitting my Aadhaar card to BSF and farm there. It is leased land and I don't own it. With onion prices at ₹9.5 per kg, we're struggling. We need at least ₹13 per kg for profit. My house is packed with onion sacks weighing 50-60 kg each. I'm unsure how to sell them at a profit. We are in debt." He says BJP enjoys good support in the village.

Dipankar Biswas, a graduate of 2018, ferries locals using battery autos (called 'totos'). "We have land beyond the zero point fence. I have been cultivating it and have planted jute this time," he said, adding that there aren't many job opportunities in the area.

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In Tungi, senior citizens recollect their roots in Jashore in Bangladesh. "After partition, some areas here witnessed an exchange of population and our ancestors came to India," said 82-year-old Sukumar Ray. Another villager recalled how they lived in continuous fear before fencing was done.