Rajesh Lakra, who was a prominent tribal trade union leader of Trinamul in the Dooars brew belt and the immediate past INTTUC president of Jalpaiguri district, quit the party on Monday.

He announced the decision within a few hours after the Trinamul leadership reshuffled INTTUC district committees in different districts of the state.

In Jalpaiguri, Tapan Dey replaced Lakra as the new district president of the workers’ front.

“Trinamul and the state government have deprived the tribal community, and thus, I have left the party. We want a tribal development council under the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution for the tribal people residing in the Terai and the Dooars. We will support in the Lok Sabha elections whoever supports our cause,” Lakra told newspersons here.

Lakra, a leader of the Bharatiya Mulnivasi Adivasi Vikas Parishad, joined Trinamul in 2020.

His resignation comes at a time when chief minister Mamata Banerjee is visiting north Bengal.

Mahua Gope, the Trinamul district president of Jalpaiguri, brushed aside the charges of tribal deprivation.

“The state government has introduced several welfare schemes for tribal community, has set up a development board, and now land rights are being provided to tea workers. There is no question of any deprivation or discrimination,” Gope said.

Another Trinamul leader added that Lakra's resignation would not impact the party organisation or its tribal support base in the region.