The Trinamul Congress has decided to continue with its campaign against the NRC and play the development card to stem the erosion of the party’s support base, bolstered by its victory in three Assembly bypolls.

Bengal tourism minister Gautam Deb on Sunday appealed to people not to panic over the NRC.

“We will reach out to every resident living in and around Siliguri and tell them that we will never allow the BJP or the Centre to carry out the NRC in Bengal,” said Deb, who is the MLA of Dabgram-Fulbari constituency that covers the surrounding areas of Siliguri, which are under Jalpaiguri district, and a portion of the city.

The minister held a meeting with residents of Ashighar and Ghogomali — two localities in his constituency — on Sunday.

On Saturday, Deb had held an administrative meeting to review the progress of different government projects and schemes in his constituency.

In the last Lok Sabha elections, the BJP led in his Assembly segment by over 80,000 votes.

“That is why the minister is fully focussed on his Assembly seat and is putting in efforts to revive Trinamul’s support base. After the party’s dual strategy (highlighting the NRC issue and organising campaigns at micro levels) worked in the Assembly bypolls, it seems Trinamul wants to go by the same rulebook in north Bengal,” said an observer.

Deb’s cabinet colleague and senior Trinamul leader Suvendu Adhikari spoke on similar lines on Sunday.

Adhikari, who was in Kaliaganj to attend a meeting convened by the party, thanked voters and party supporters with folded hands while passing clear instructions to the workers.

“You should not discriminate against people who didn’t vote for Trinamul. You have to ensure that all eligible people availed themselves of the state’s welfare schemes. This attitude would help you win the support of more people,” Adhikari told Trinamul workers.

Malda district Trinamul chief Mausam Benazir Noor held a meeting with leaders on Sunday and said the party would launch an extensive campaign against the NRC. Noor had met Trinamul supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Calcutta and held discussions to improve the party’s base in the district.

“We will conduct relay rallies against the NRC in all blocks of the district from December 9 to 11. After the rallies, there will be a public meeting in Malda on December 12 where state leaders would be present,” Noor said after the meeting.

Additional reporting by Soumya De Sarkar