The creation of a new subdivision, migration of people to other states from tea estates and infrastructure development are some of the prominent topics that feature in the manifestos unveiled by four main parties on Friday for the Dhupguri Assembly bypoll.

The Dhupguri by-election necessitated by the death of incumbent BJP MLA Bishnupada Roy will be held on September 5.

The Trinamul Congress and the BJP released separate manifestos, while the Congress and the Left Front published a joint manifesto for 2.68 lakh voters of the seat.

“Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has created the new Banarhat block (a portion of which is under Dhupguri constituency) for better governance and convenience of people. We are confident that in due course, Dhupguri will be upgraded to a subdivisional headquarters. Unlike other parties which have never fulfilled their promises, the Trinamul government has carried out a number of development projects in the constituency,” Jalpaiguri district Trinamul president Mahua Gope said.

Along with a new subdivision, Trinamul promised that steps would be taken to find a place for garbage disposal to keep Dhupguri town and its surroundings clean. “There are plans to improve the infrastructure of the local farmers’ market and the rural hospital,” added Gope.

In Jalpaiguri district, Dhupguri is a major agricultural belt.

BJP leaders, on the other hand, have blamed the Trinamul government for being apathetic about the residents of Dhupguri.

Jalpaiguri district BJP president Bapi Goswami said the central government had built Asian Highway 2 which passes through Dhupguri. The construction of another four-lane highway (NH27) is also in progress.

“A number of trains’ stops have been sanctioned for the Dhupguri station. But the state did nothing for the people here. The Adivasis residing in some portions of the block do not have land rights. Heaps of garbage are seen across the town as there is no dumping ground. If our candidate wins, we will raise in the Assembly the demand for the subdivision, along with these issues,” said Goswami.

In their joint manifesto, the Left and the Congress touched on these issues while underscoring that because of lack of employment, a section of people living in tea gardens which are under the Assembly constituency was migrating to other states in search of jobs.

“This is an important issue and clearly indicates a lack of employment opportunities in the area,” said Salil Acharya, the district CPM secretary.

In Dhupguri, around 60 per cent of the voters are Rajbanshis. None of these parties has mentioned anything specifically for the community in their manifestos.

“The constituency also has Adivasis, non-Bengalis and minorities. It seems none of the parties wants to antagonise other communities and hence, they have not made any specific promise for any community in their manifestos,” said an observer.