Tribal leaders who had played a crucial role in the struggle for a separate Jharkhand state and still hold considerable clout among the people have been roped in by Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s political strategist Prashant Kishor’s team and cabinet minister Moloy Ghatak to campaign for Trinamul Congress candidates in tribal areas.

The tribal leaders, including former state tribal advisory council member Ratan Tirkey, founder president of All Jharkhand Students Union (Ajsu), Prabhakar Tirkey, former Jagannathpur JMM legislator Mangal Singh Bobonga, founder vice-president of Ajsu and tribal scholar Naresh Murmu and statehood movement leader Nirmal Bhattacharya held a discussion with Kishor’s team in Calcutta and also held a meeting with Bengal labour minister Ghatak in early March.

“We were surprised to know that Kishor’s team knew about our participation in the tribal students’ movement in Jhargram and Midnapore in the 1980s. In fact, Ajsu was born in 1986 in Jhargram. They sought our help in campaigning among tribals for this election. We readily agreed as we feel that the time has come for another struggle against fascist forces unleashed by the BJP government at the Centre,” said Ratan, a Ranchi-based tribal leader.

The Jharkhand tribal leaders went straight from Calcutta to Jhargram on March 14.

“According to the discussions held with Ghatak, we had to campaign in as many panchayats as possible in the two Assembly constituencies of Nayagram (ST-reserved) and Jhargram for TMC candidates Dulal Murmu and Birbaha Hansda (daughter of former Jhargram MLA late Noren Hansda). We covered almost all the panchayats in both the constituencies and informed our tribal people about the anti-tribal policies of the BJP government, especially during its tenure in Jharkhand, the new anti-farmer laws and its hidden agenda to wipe out tribal identity and culture,” said Prabhakar.

The leaders held small meetings with tribal groups at various levels, campaigning based on issues, and counter the BJP in terms of national tribal policies with special reference to Jharkhand which was under the saffron party’s regime for most of the time since the state was carved out of Bihar in 2000.

“Nayagram and Jhargram are mostly inhabited by Santhal and Munda community people. Using our old roots in this region during our agitation days, we have managed to convince the people to make a right decision while casting their vote,” added Ratan.

The tribal leaders would be now moving for campaigning in north Bengal.

_“As per the strategy, we will be going to north Bengal from April 9 onwards and campaigning in Assembly constituencies of Nagrakata (ST-reserved), Siliguri and Phansidewa (ST) till April 15,” said Ratan.

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren also campaigned for Trinamul candidates in Purulia and Bankura Assembly constituencies on Wednesday.