Union minister of state and Matua leader Shantanu Thakur is believed to have upped the pressure on the state BJP leadership by joining hands with former Trinamul MP and rival faction leader Mamatabala Thakur to organise the community’s grand congregation — Matua Dharma Maha Mela 2022 — that will start at Thakurnagar from Tuesday.

The junior Union shipping minister and BJP MP, who heads the AllIndia Matua Mahasangha, has roped in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will address the Matua congregation that marks the 211th appearance day of cult guru Shri Harichand Thakur, virtually on Tuesday evening.

Accepting Shantanu’s request, BJP national president J.P. Nadda is also expected to attend the congregation that is expected to see around 20 lakh devotees by the time the event ends on April 5.

The BJP MP has also got the Centre to run 15 special trains for the event and arrange a ship to ferry devotees from the Andamans.

BJP insiders in Bengal claimed that by organising the fair jointly with the rival faction close to Trinamul and by convincing Modi to address the gathering, Shantanu is trying to leverage the annual Matua event to convey a strong message to state leadership about his importance.

Shantanu had long been at loggerheads with the state BJP leadership over the formation of the state committee. He made his displeasure known by staying away from the BJP’s campaign during last month’s civic poll that saw the saffron camp drawing a blank in the 108 urban seats. His absence was keenly felt as elections were held at several municipal area that had sizable presence of Matuas.

“With the support base of Matuas in his control, Shantanu has been trying to bargain for influential posts for his men in the party organisations. Now, he is trying to push the bar by joining hands with Mamatabala Thakur. Arranging a ship for devotees coming from the Andamans, and ensuring Narendra Modi to address Matuas virtually will further strengthen his demand for bigger political space within the Bengal BJP,” said a senior BJP leader in Calcutta.

A member of the Mahasangha said Shantanu felt cornered by the state BJP leaders as they ignored Matua representatives in the state committee earlier this year. Shantanu had also expressed his dejection over the Centre’s delay in framing rules required to implement the CAA.

Asked if joining hands with rival Mamatabala was his way of extracting his pound of flesh from the state BJP, Shantanu Thakur said attributing any such motive was “an attempt to mislead the Matuas”.

“Because of the pandemic, this religious congregation could not be organised in the last two years. Political differences somehow affected the cohesive relationship of our community. Political leaders have damaged the relationship within the Thakur family. We want to get past all that and organise the fair in the way it used to be in the past,” Shantanu said. “This has nothing to do with political ambition.”

Shantanu’s elder brother and BJP MLA Subrata Thakur said: “Let politics be a personal thing. We want to convey a message of brotherhood among devotees by jointly organising the grand congregation.”

A section of the BJP leadership in Bongaon close to the Thakur brothers appeared happy with the way the BJP central leadership responded to Shantanu’s requests.

Mamatabala, who heads the Sarba Bharatiya Matua Mahasangha, also refused to see any politics in Shantanu joining hands with her for the religious fair. “This fair is about unity and this is the message to devotees.”