The Trinamool Congress has made all arrangements for an interaction between Abhishek Banerjee, the national general secretary of the party, and tea garden workers in Alipurduar district on Saturday.

“Time and again, we have underscored the works done by the state government on tea estates vis-à-vis the hollow promises of the Narendra Modi government and the BJP. From today, Abhishek Banerjee kicked off the poll campaign from Baruipur, and tomorrow, he will speak with tea workers on different issues,” said Ritabrata Banerjee, the state INTTUC president, who visited Majherdabri tea estate on Friday, where Abhishek will attend the interaction.

The Trinamool Cha Bagan Sramik Union, which is affiliated with the ruling party, works among tea garden workers.

Initially, it was decided that the event would be held at the Jainti tea estate, which is in the Kumargram block of the district. But later, it was decided that the interaction would be held in Majherdabri, which is on the outskirts of Alipurduar town.

Ritabrata, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, said: “Abhishek Banerjee’s visit will definitely leave a positive impact on the party’s performance at the upcoming elections, especially in the tea belt. Tea workers are well aware that the Centre has not done anything for them, unlike the state.”

For the past couple of years, Trinamool has been focusing on Alipurduar, a district where the BJP had won all five Assembly seats in the 2021 elections. However, last year, TMC managed to win the Madarihat seat in a by-election.

“In the district, the tea population is a decisive factor, and this time, Trinamool is desperate to wrest the seats from the BJP. That is why, Abhishek Banerjee, the second most important leader of the party, has decided to visit the district and talk to the tea workers,” said a political veteran of the district.

Ahead of Abhishek’s visit, a helipad has been developed at a distance of around one kilometre from the interaction venue. Ramps have been built so that he can reach out to the tea workers.

“We intend to bring around 100 workers from each tea garden and have arranged vehicles to take them to the venue,” said a Trinamool functionary, who considers it a unique outreach initiative aimed at building closer ties with the workers.