Trinamool Congress national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday gave the call to oust the BJP from Alipurduar district while dangling the carrot of a wage hike for tea workers of north Bengal.

“You have voted for the BJP repeatedly, yet their elected legislators or the central government have not done anything for you, unlike the state government, which has taken a slew of initiatives for people in the tea estates. This time, you should ‘unmap’ the BJP from the map of Alipurduar,” Abhishek said at a meeting of tea workers at the Majherdabri tea estate on the outskirts of Alipurduar town.

“Let me assert that if Trinamool is voted to power, a tripartite meeting will be held within a month and daily wage rate increased to ₹300 for tea workers,” he said in reply to the question of a tea worker.

As of now, a tea worker earns ₹250 a day. In 2011, when Mamata Banerjee assumed the chief minister’s office for the first time, a tea worker earned ₹67 a day. Since then, the state government has revised the wage rate multiple times through talks. In 2015, a committee was formed to recommend the minimum wage rate, but no decision has been reached so far.

The tea population decides the election results of 10 to 12 Assembly seats in the region.

In his speech of around 80 minutes, Abhishek elaborated on the state’s welfare schemes in the tea belt of north Bengal.

“In 2021, we did not get a single (Assembly) seat in Alipurduar (the BJP bagged all five). Yet, our government did not deprive the residents here of developmental work and welfare schemes. The BJP, on the other hand, halted funds meant for Bengal as it lost in the 2021 Assembly elections,” said Abhishek.

A senior trade union leader based in Alipurduar said the wage hike announcement was significant. “His announcement of a wage hike will surely have an impact among the tea workers and their families. He also reminded the tea population that the state has come up with new initiatives like crèches and health centres in tea estates. It will shortly introduce buses for schoolchildren from the gardens. It will be interesting to see how the BJP handles the situation,” he said.

Ahead of the meeting, tea workers who reached the venue were each handed a pamphlet and asked to fill it up in case they had any question to ask Abhishek.

In ones and twos, workers scribbled on the pamphlets and put them into a drop box. In due course, some pamphlets were taken out and read out in Abhishek’s presence, which had questions related to the SIR, wages and fringe benefits, housing and provident fund.

Abhishek took the questions and answered them. It was while replying to the question of Rajesh Oraon of the Rahimabad tea estate, he called the tea worker on the dais and promised that if voted to power, the Trinamool government would ensure that workers get a daily wage of ₹300.

“It was a unique outreach as he not only spoke, but also replied to questions of tea workers. We are confident that his visit will positively impact the party’s poll performance in the district,” said Birendra Bara, the Alipurduar district president of the Trinamool Cha Bagan Sramik Union.