Chief minister Mamata Banerjee addressed three public meetings in north Bengal — one in Alipurduar district and two in Cooch Behar district — with an apparent aim to woo the Rajbanshi community and tea garden dwellers.

“We have paid due homage to Thakur Panchanan Barma (the most revered social reformer of the Rajbanshi community). We have renovated his ancestral house in Khalishamari, built a museum and a research centre, and are developing the second campus of the Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University,” the Trinamool Congress chairperson told a public meeting at Ghoksadanga in Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar district.

Mamata said her government has constituted a development and cultural board for Rajbanshis and two language academies for Rajbanshi and Kamtapuri (a variant of the Rajbanshi language). “The BJP has not done anything for Cooch Behar, even though the people had elected BJP legislators from the district,” the chief minister added.

Mamata referred to the historic exchange of enclaves in 2015 according to the land boundary agreement signed between India and Bangladesh, and tried to take credit for the same.

“The Centre carried out some formalities…we executed the entire process, right from the rehabilitation of the enclave dwellers to development of infrastructure in their areas,” she said.

Addressing a rally in Alipurduar town later, Mamata highlighted the development projects and social welfare schemes taken up for the tea garden workers and their families.

“We have provided houses and land rights, built crèches, and even started bus services for the school children. The wage has been revised, and we will increase it again once our government is formed,” said the Trinamool chairperson.

She broached the state’s policy of tea tourism, where a portion of unutilised land in tea gardens can be used for tourism infrastructure.

“This would create employment opportunities for youths in tea gardens. Many other initiatives have been taken up to expand the tourism sector in this region,” said Mamata.

Political observers said the frequent changes in political dynamics, especially in the Rajbanshi community, made Trinamool desperate to consolidate its support in the region.

Additional reporting by our Alipurduar and Cooch Behar correspondents