The Bharatiya Janata Party’s decision to nominate Ananta Rai ‘Maharaj’ – who has been demanding that a separate state of “Greater Cooch Behar” be carved out of West Bengal and parts of Assam – as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, has set off a fresh storm, with the ruling Trinamool Congress accusing the party of fanning separatism in the State.
Ananta Rai heads one of the factions of the Greater Cooch Behar Peoples’ Association (GCPA) which is demanding that a separate State or Union Territory be carved out of northern West Bengal. He is believed to have considerable say among the Rajbanshi community of the North Bengal region, estimated to account for nearly 30 per cent of the electorate in the area. The community is one of the biggest Scheduled Caste communities of the State after Matuas in South Bengal.
Reacting to the news of the nomination, Trinamool MP and spokesperson Santanu Sen said: “This only proves that BJP fans separatist movement in the State”. We have been saying for a long time that the BJP is fanning a separatist movement in North Bengal and wants to divide the State.