Jalpaiguri/Alipurduar: The tea belt of the Dooars region of the Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts has shown its faith in Mamata Banerjee-led TMC. Despite the tea belt having two BJP MPs and 10 BJP MLAs. The trend indicates that the TMC has secured most of the seats within the tea plantations of the Dooars region.
In Alipurduar District, a total of 64 Gram Panchayats have 1,252 Panchayat seats, out of which 1,251 seats were contested in this rural poll. TMC has secured 246 seats and is leading in 173 seats as of 6 pm on Tuesday.
On the other hand, BJP has won 129 seats and is leading in 60. In Moyradanga GP in Alipurduar, Bhushan Modak, the BJP District President of Alipurduar was defeated by Bipul Modak of the TMC.
Meanwhile, in Jalpaiguri district, there are a total of 80 Gram Panchayats with 1,701 Panchayat seats contested in this rural poll. TMC has secured 336 seats as of Tuesday, 6 pm. BJP has won 161 seats, CPI(M) has secured 23 seats, and Independent candidates have won 11 seats. Trinamool has also secured a Panchayat seat in Lakshmi Para Tea Garden, which is the residence of Union minister John Barla. Apart from the Bannerhat Block, TMC candidates have also won in the tea plantations of Nagrakata and Malbazar area.
Mridual Goswami, the Chairman of the Alipurduar District TMC, stated: “Our leader Mamata Banerjee has done a lot for the workers of the 64 tea gardens in the district. No one else can do as much. Land rights, Cha Sundari housing scheme, and free ration for all workers, among other social projects have had a huge impact on the tea garden workers. In return, they have shown tremendous support for the TMC in the rural polls. Despite having one MP and four MLAs from BJP, they have failed to keep their promises for the past four years. During the Parliamentary and Assembly elections, BJP misled the people of this region.”
Furthermore, Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, have shown their love for North Bengal. They have visited here several times and also inaugurated new projects for the people of this district, he added.
Rajesh Lakra, the INTTUC Jalpaiguri district president, said: ‘’The tea workers from the tea gardens supported TMC from Meteli block and Banarhat block to Malbazar and Nagarakatta. The most significant achievement is that TMC has won all five Gram Panchayat seats in Lakshmipara Tea Garden, the residence of Union minister John Barla. TMC candidates have also won in Haldibari tea garden.” He claimed that 98 per cent of TMC candidates have won in the tea garden area, enabling the state government to focus on the welfare of the tea workers and work for their benefit.