TMC seeks to retain Madarihat with Rs 250 cr development push

Alipurduar: Development work worth nearly Rs 250 crore in just over a year has become the central plank for outgoing MLA Joy Prakash Toppo, who is seeking re-election from the Madarihat Assembly Constituency in the Alipurduar district as a candidate of the All India Trinamool Congress. He faces a challenge from the Luxman Limboo of the BJP.

Ahead of the Assembly elections, Toppo appears confident after reorganising the party at the grassroots level. Having secured a decisive victory in the recent bypoll in what was long considered a BJP stronghold, he is aiming to retain the seat by foregrounding development and organisational strength.

Toppo said projects worth nearly Rs 250 crore have been completed in about 14 months, covering all 12 Gram Panchayats. These include roads, bridges, drainage systems, embankments, high-mast towers, street lighting in Birpara town, healthcare facilities and a bypass road. He added that construction of a promised ITI college has begun, with a tender worth around Rs 9.5 crore already finalised.

“What the BJP could not achieve in 10 years, we have accomplished in just 14 months,” he claimed.

Tea garden workers are expected to play a decisive role in the Constituency, which has 21 tea estates. Keeping this in mind, Trinamool’s tea garden workers’ union has intensified campaigning, focusing on coordination between the party organisation and

labour units.

Organisationally, the party has revamped all 226 booths over the past three months, appointing new presidents in nearly 70 per cent of them. Special emphasis has been placed on strengthening weaker booths and increasing women’s participation.

Electoral trends have also provided optimism to the Trinamool camp. The party’s deficit of around 45,000 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections narrowed to nearly 5,000 in 2024, when Manoj Tigga of the BJP had won the Parliamentary seat. In the subsequent Assembly bypoll, Toppo registered a victory margin of about 28,000 votes.

“We want to increase the lead further. Workers from every booth will reach every household, including kitchens. Women workers will play a crucial role,” he said.