The Trinamool Congress and the BJP on Saturday fielded senior leaders and the rank and file across Bengal to observe the 150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, a 19th-century freedom fighter and tribal icon whom members of the indigenous community consider as Bhagwan, aiming to woo Adivasi voters ahead of Assembly elections.

Birsa Munda (November 15, 1875 – June 9, 1900) is worshipped as a foremost icon by people across Bengal’s diverse tribal groups. In various pockets across 17 districts in Bengal, there are 40 tribal communities, including the Santhal, Munda, Oraon, Kol, Bhil, and Bhumij.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the 150th birth anniversary as Janajatiya Gaurav Diwas (Tribal Dignity Day), the Bengal BJP organised a four-day celebration that culminated with colourful programmes across different parts of the state on Saturday.

Trinamool, which has been observing November 15 for the past few years with much fanfare across Bengal, also organised multiple block-level celebrations and launched the Jai Johar Mela in tribal-dominated blocks and towns. The Mamata Banerjee government has been celebrating Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary in the 17 districts with notable tribal populations.

BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya offers floral tribute to a statue of Birsa Munda at Patharghata near Siliguri on Saturday

Honouring Birsa Munda became a major part of Bengal’s political discourse after the saffron camp’s alleged gaffe in November 2020, when Union home minister Amit Shah was accused of mistaking the statue of an anonymous tribal hunter for Birsa Munda and garlanding it in Bankura.

In Bengal, there are 16 ST-reserved seats where tribal voters play a decisive role in determining the victory of any political party. Apart from these 16 seats, there are over 30 more Assembly segments where tribal voters exert significant influence. In the 2024 general election, Trinamool was ahead in nine of the 16 ST-reserved seats, while the BJP led in the remaining seven.

Leaders of the two rival political parties have taken up the celebrations this year in a competitive mode, each trying to showcase themselves as the true friends of the tribal community.

“The BJP has repeatedly insulted the tribal community. Starting from garlanding the statue of an anonymous tribal hunter in Bankura, they have never thought about the welfare of tribal people. Our government, led by Mamata Banerjee, has launched several schemes for the development of our community, including the Jai Johar pension and scholarships to uplift livelihoods,” said state forest minister Birbaha Hansda.

“They have always raised slogans for Hindus hailing Lord Ram. I have never heard BJP leaders hail tribal deities like Maran Buru. Despite our state government sending a proposal demanding recognition of Sari Dharam as a religious code, the BJP government has been sitting on it,” added Hansda, who is also Trinamool’s ST cell
state president.

Both chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her heir-apparent, Abhishek Banerjee, greeted and paid tributes to Birsa Munda on their social media handles on Saturday morning.

While Trinamool leaders highlighted how the Mamata government launched multiple projects for tribal development, BJP leaders hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for appointing Droupadi Murmu, a woman from a tribal community, as the President of India, and for choosing tribal leaders as chief ministers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

“We salute our Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making Droupadi Murmu the President of India, and for selecting at least two chief ministers from tribal communities — Chhattisgarh’s Vishnu Deo Sai and Odisha’s Mohan Charan Majhi,” said leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who attended a celebration event in Saptagram, Hooghly.

“This Trinamool government has issued fake ST certificates to non-tribal people, including infiltrators, to settle them permanently in the state,” added Adhikari, urging tribal people to revolt to oust the Mamata government, in the spirit of Birsa Munda’s rebellion against the British Raj.

BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya offered floral tributes to a statue of Birsa Munda at Patharghata in Matigara, Siliguri.

The state president of the BJP’s Adivasi Morcha and MLA from Malda’s Habibpur, Joyel Murmu, said that tribal people would soon take to the streets against the deprivation of the community and the issue of fake certificates.

“We will organise massive protests against the fake certificate issue across the state. The state government has politicised the celebrations to such an extent that they did not invite Opposition MLAs like me, a member of the tribal community, to government programmes today,” said Murmu.

The BJP has maintained its dominance in tribal pockets since the 2019 general election, when it was ahead in 12 ST-reserved seats. However, Trinamool bounced back in 2021, winning 11 ST seats, and in 2024, it led in nine tribal-reserved seats.

“Although there was no earlier politicisation of a tribal hero like Birsa Munda, political parties have pushed tribal people into identity politics since Mamata came to power in 2011. I would say that in Bengal, the politicisation of Adivasi identity has already gained momentum,” said political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty.

“Besides tribal identity politics, both Trinamool and the BJP have also entered the identity politics of several SC communities like the Matuas and Rajbanshis,” he added.