The birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, the 19th century freedom fighter revered widely by Adivasis, was celebrated by the Trinamul Congress and the BJP on Wednesday.

Trinamul leaders in Alipurduar district have decided to hold cultural events till November 30 as part of the celebrations.

“In between the cultural events, we will highlight the failure of the Centre and (Alipuduar) BJP MP John Barla. The cultural events will be held till the end of the month,” said Prakash Chik Baraik, a Rajya Sabha member and the president of the Alipurduar district committee of Trinamul. “These cultural events will be part of the Birsa Jayanti celebrations,” said Baraik.

The BJP also made its political intentions clear.

Manoj Tigga, a BJP MLA and the party’s Alipurduar district president, said: “We have started reaching out to tea garden residents. We will make them aware of the central water supply schemes, subsidised rations and other schemes.”

The tribal population influences votes in at least six Lok Sabha seats in Bengal — Darjeeling, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Jhargram, Purulia and Bankura.

“We will work for the welfare of the people of tea gardens in the region by implementing the Centre’s schemes,” Raju Bista, the BJP MP of Darjeeling, said after attending the celebration that was organised at Hanskhowa Tea Estate near Bagdogra and at Dumuria in Kharibari of the Siliguri subdivision.

Anandamay Barman, the BJP MLA of Matigara-Naxalbari Assembly constituency, was absent from both the events.

Barman, however, said he was busy with some family functions and nothing much should be read into his absence from the party programmes.

“I went to Bagdogra and attended a road race early in the morning (Wednesday) that was organised as a part of the celebration of Birsa Jayanti. I did not turn out at other events because of some family functions,” Barman said.

Arun Mondal, the Siliguri organisational district president of the BJP, said: “We have organised both events with the participation of respective local organisational units. Apart from the MP, (Phansidewa MLA) Durga Murmu, Ajay Oraon, a member of the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad (SMP) and other leaders attended the events.”

The Alipurduar district administration also organised events at various places to mark the day. The Trinamul-controlled SMP observed the day in the Naxalbari Block. Arun Ghosh, the sabhadhipati of the SMP, attended the programme.