WB: Dhanyosara Villagers Defy BJP-TMC Alliance, Nominate CPI(M) Candidates for Panchayat Polls

Dhanyosara: Dhanyosara, located approximately 11 km north of Bolpur town, is battling against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) coalitions in the Panchayat elections. The picturesque village, boasting a village field and a community hall, was developed by Mansha Hansda, a legendary tribal leader of Birbhum who served as the District Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M) until he died in 2021. Known as "Mama" to the village juniors, Mansha Hansda has led fights against the TMC hooligans in the surrounding villages.

While neighbouring villages have fallen to the TMC raiders, Dhanyosara remains an oasis of peace, safeguarded by night guards armed with bows and arrows. Dinesh Ghorui, a Scheduled Caste (SC) youth and law clerk, plays a crucial role in this valiant stand alongside nearly a thousand villagers of Dhanyosara. He proudly declares, "They have bombs and pistols, but our arrows are deadly and unwavering in their trajectory. They fear us a lot and remain wary of attacking our village."

As tribals, the villagers of Dhanyosara do not trust the BJP and refuse to be treated as second-class citizens under their rule. Consequently, Dhanyosara is off-limits for the BJP. 

However, the BJP and TMC have formed an alliance at the Panchayat level. Speaking with NewsClick, Ghorui alleges, "In the Zilla Parishad, the BJP has fielded a candidate, but at the gram panchayat and panchayat samiti levels, in collaboration with the TMC, they have hesitated to provide candidates. It is a clear case of understanding at the Panchayat level. They are now telling the villagers to give them one vote at the Zilla Parishad level and the rest (2 votes) to the TMC. The villagers of Dhanyosara understand this clearly and state that the BJP and TMC are two sides of the same coin."

Dhanyosara consists of 147 families from tribal backgrounds, 87 from SC backgrounds, and seven from general castes. The impoverished villagers have nominated CPI(M) candidates from similar humble backgrounds. Shikha Mardi, a tribal leader, is their Zilla Parishad candidate, Urmila Mete is the gram panchayat candidate, and Dinesh is the candidate of the panchayat samiti, as confirmed in an interview with NewsClick.

The villagers are determined to continue fighting in the path shown by their leader, Mama Mansha Hansda. They are prepared for any eventuality in the upcoming Panchayat polls. During NewsClick’s visit to Dhanyosara, NewsClick witnessed the Hool Utsav of the tribals, where a friendly soccer match was played among the tribal community. Ghorui addressed concerns about candidate poaching by the TMC before and after the election, stating, "If our players get injured, we replace them with substitutes," highlighting their unwavering commitment.

Last year, in 2018, Dhanyosara witnessed no votes as the TMC forcibly took over the panchayat. However, this year, despite hooliganism and raiders controlling the election nomination process in the entire Bolpur subdivision, the villagers of Dhanyosara resisted and submitted their nominations at the local Block Development Officer’s (BDO) office.

Following the nomination process, the nomination withdrawal day arrived. While most candidates in the Bolpur subdivision were forced to withdraw their nominations, Mardi, Ghorui, and Mete remained adamant in their decision to fight the election as CPI(M) candidates. A gram samsad was held in the village to ensure that the CPIM candidates face no difficulties in campaigning and that their nominations are not withdrawn under any circumstances.

The Zilla Parishad candidate Shikha Mardi firmly stated, "Every day, we are fighting. Our fighting will not end abruptly as the TMC is the greatest enemy of democracy and snatches everything." She expressed her determination, supported by her entire mahalla, emphasising that they fear no one, but their opponents fear them.