In the recent rural elections in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) joined hands with Maoist-backed outfit Adivasi Samanvay Manch (ASM) in the tribal-dominated districts of Jhargram and Purulia, reported . This unlikely alliance helped it to perform better than expected. State intelligence officials confirmed that outlawed Maoists had made an appeal to vote for the independent candidates of ASM.
“The ASM is backed by a powerful tribal organisation – Bharat Jakat Majhi Pargana Mahal. The Maoists, too, made an appeal to back ASM,” veteran CPI(ML) leader Niranjan Bera said.
In both areas, the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) performance had dipped.
Jhargram, compared to the state average of 6%, has nearly 30% tribal population. BJP secured 42% seats here, far higher than its state average of 18% of contested seats. The TMC, on the other hand, got only 48% of seats here as compared to its state average of 66% at the gram panchayat level.
Similarly in Purulia, with 20% tribal population, the BJP secured 33% and the TMC bagged only 43% seats.
TMC suffered losses in at least three gram panchayats – Bhulaveda, Banshpahari and Shimulpal – in Binpur II block, due to the seat adjustments between BJP and ASM.