West Bengal

IIE DIGITAL DESK : Purulia, West Bengal: Representatives of the Adivasi Kurmi community from districts including Purulia, Bankura and Jhargram held a high‑level meeting with Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister of India, at his office in the Parliament House complex in New Delhi on Monday amid the approaching West Bengal Assembly elections 2026. 

The delegation included several senior leaders of the Adivasi Kurmi Samaj, such as its key leader Ajit Mahato, president Shashank Mahato, vice‑president Sanjay Kumar Mahato, and executive committee members Shashadhar Mahato, Kamalesh Mahato and Premchand Mahato. Also present were Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato, the Member of Parliament from Purulia, and another MP from the state of Rajasthan. Former Kurmi Samaj leader Rajesh Mahato, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on March 1, was also part of the delegation. 

The meeting took place against a backdrop of growing political activity in the region. Last October in Purulia’s Shimulia Maidan, members of the Kurmi community had raised the slogan “No Vote to TMC,” clearly signalling their opposition to the ruling All India Trinamool Congress. In February as well, at a public gathering in Kotsila, leaders reiterated their stance and opposition to the Trinamool Congress, showing continued unity on this position.

During the discussions with the Home Minister, the Kurmi representatives raised their long‑standing demands, including recognition of the community as a Scheduled Tribe (ST), inclusion of the Kurmali language in the Constitution’s Eighth Schedule, and a separate code for the Sarna religion. These issues form the core of several agitation movements led by Kurmi organisations in the state.

After the meeting, Ajit Mahato told reporters that they had presented all three demands to Amit Shah. While the Union Home Minister gave assurances about taking the proposals forward, Mahato emphasised that the community seeks formal acceptance of their demands, not just promises. He also said that Shah indicated a bill could be introduced in the next session of Parliament for inclusion of Kurmali language in the Eighth Schedule. Mahato added that if they receive a positive response on these issues, the Kurmi community would actively campaign for the BJP in West Bengal’s poll arena. 

There was no immediate response from Purulia MP Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato on the outcome of the meeting, even after repeated calls. Meanwhile, Shantiram Mahato, the Trinamool Congress’s state secretary and district chairman, reacted to the development by underscoring that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already written to the Centre supporting the Kurmi community’s demands. He also questioned the mixing of social movements with partisan politics, noting that voters in Bengal do not simply follow directives from any single social leader.

The meeting has sparked political conversations in the Jangalmahal area and beyond as the community’s demands intersect with electoral strategies ahead of the polls.