Once a Maoist hotbed, Ranibandh now engages in homestay tourism push

The Ranibandh Assembly constituency continues to grapple with the legacy of Maoist violence even as it remains divided over the impact of homestay tourism on local culture and livelihoods.

Introduced in 1962, the Ranibandh seat comprises the Khatra, Hirbandh and Ranibandh blocks of Bankura district. It currently has around 2.53 lakh voters, of whom 33.01 per cent are tribal electors. The constituency has consistently elected a Cabinet minister, both during the erstwhile Left Front regime and after the political change in the state in 2011.

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CPI-M candidate Deblina Hembram has been contesting from Ranibandh since 1996. She served as the state’s tribal affairs minister from 2006 and retained her stronghold even during the 2011 political shift. However, she was defeated by Trinamul Congress candidate Jyotsna Mandi in 2016, when her vote share dropped by 8.77 per cent, while the BJP’s share rose by 5.86 per cent from a modest 3.78 per cent in 2011.

Ms Mandi later served as the state food & supplies minister but is not in the fray this year. The Trinamul Congress has fielded a new candidate, Tanushree Hansda. Following her nomination, Ms Hembram, a seasoned campaigner of three decades, remarked: “Faces against me may change, but the forces that have disrupted the peace and tranquillity of this region over the past decade remain the same.”

The tranquillity of Ranibandh’s villages was severely affected with the rise of Maoist activity in the early 2000s, during the Left Front’s tenure. The region witnessed repeated incidents linked to the People’s War Group. In 2001, a zilla parishad member, Shibaram Satpathy, was killed in neighbouring Sarenga. In one of the most shocking incidents, a policeman, Probal Sengupta, and two CPI-M workers, Raghunath Murmu and Bablu Mudi, were killed in a blast at Majhgoria on 9 July 2005, an incident that shook state politics.

Once an epicentre of Maoist insurgency, Ranibandh lies on the fringes of the Chhotanagpur plateau, characterised by undulating, rocky terrain where armed violence once overshadowed democratic processes prior to the Mamata Banerjee government’s anti-Maoist operations.

While reluctant to dwell on the insurgency, Ms Hembram expressed concern over the cultural impact of tourism. She alleged that, under the guise of homestay tourism, urban visitors were disrupting the social fabric of tribal communities and threatening their long-preserved cultural heritage.

BJP candidate Khudiram Tudu, who has been contesting the seat since 2016, echoed similar concerns. He criticised the influx of what he termed “urban excess” in the name of development, asserting that local communities should not be burdened with its consequences.

Aditya Kisku of the Jharkhand Anusilan Party, who contested until 2011 but has stayed away this time, said that the concerns he had raised earlier about cultural erosion were now becoming increasingly relevant.

In contrast, the expansion of homestay tourism in areas such as Birkham, Mitha Aam and Ambikanagar ~ near the scenic Mukutmanipur dam, Kharidungri hill, the Sutan forests and parts of the Jhilimili reservoir ~ has been credited to initiatives taken under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The Mukutmonipur Development Authority was established to boost regional development, although its effectiveness has been questioned.

Defending the government’s approach, Trinamul candidate Tanushree Hansda said the administration had brought lasting relief to the Junglemahal region and created livelihood opportunities through tourism. She criticised opponents for opposing homestay initiatives while failing to address the economic needs of local residents.

Referring to past political visits, she also alleged that some leaders engage in token gestures without genuinely understanding the challenges faced by tribal communities.