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Jhargram (Bengal): Rina Shing, a landless marginal labourer and housewife from Shilda Rajar Bagan Colony in the Binpur assembly constituency of Bengal’s Jhargram district, says that she wants to live with dignity.

“We want to be able to earn our daily bread without depending on anyone’s mercy. Here is a man who stood by us, at our protests, for days in front of the panchayat and block offices. He understands the suffering of the poor because he himself is a daily wage labourer,” said Rina.

She was referring to Rabindranath Sardar, who has been fielded as the Communist Party of India (Marxist), candidate from the Binpur assembly constituency in Bengal’s Jangalmahal region of Jhargram district.

“He is one of us, a man from a poor background,” Rina said, while campaigning alongside the Left Front candidate.

A striking aspect of the campaign is that most of those accompanying the CPI(M) candidate in the Binpur constituency are poor, working-class supporters.

Abundance, but no access

Jhargram district, one of the prominent regions of Bengal’s Jangalmahal, continues to captivate people with its pristine natural beauty. Dense forests stretch across the region, interspersed with small and medium-sized hills from which streams cascade. The vast and quiet surroundings are home to various species of birds.

The forests are home to elephants, hyenas, wild boars, several species of snakes, and other wildlife.

The picturesque Belpahari area. Photo: Madhu Sudan Chatterjee.

A significant portion of the district’s population is tribal communities, including people from Santa, Mundas, Lodha-Shabar, Kora, and Bhumij groups. Locals here are connected to nature and depend on forest resources for their livelihoods.

However, over the past decade, access to forest-based livelihoods, once supported through government assistance, has declined significantly. Employment opportunities under MGNREGA have also stopped for the past four years.

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