The tea trade union of Trinamul has lined up “tea conferences” or public meetings for tea workers and their families of north Bengal in the coming weeks.

Since 2011, when Trinamul party came to power in the state, this is the first time such meetings are being aimed at a population in a specific region, the brew belt.

The first of these will be held on August 21, a district level conference of the tea population in Kalchini of Alipurduar district.

“Workers from every tea estate of the district will participate at the conference. Our party leaders will elaborate before them the initiatives the state government has taken up for them so far. They will also underscore the unfulfilled promises of the BJP leaders and the central government,” said Nakul Sonar, the president of the Trinamul Cha Sramik Union.

He said that on September 9, a central conference will be held in Malbazar where tea workers from Darjeeling, Terai and the Dooars will join. On the next day, the district-level conference of Jalpaiguri will be held at the same venue.

The decision to convene such conferences was made recently after Trinamul leaders from north Bengal districts met the party’s all India general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee in Calcutta.

“We have been categorically instructed to focus on every booth and take initiatives to revive and consolidate our support base. Accordingly, it has been decided to focus on the tea belt. In due course, we will hold such meetings in every tea garden to reach out to workers and their families and tell them what the state has done and what the Centre has not done for them,” said a senior Trinamul functionary in Alipurduar.

At these conferences, questions would also be raised over the performance of the MPs and MLAs elected from the tea belt. In north Bengal, most of the legislators from the brew belt are from the saffron camp.

“In all, there are 12 Assembly constituencies and three Lok Sabha seats where votes of the tea population decide the results. Trinamul had to face a setback in these areas since 2019. It is evident that the party intends to put its best efforts to revive support, keeping in mind the panchayat elections of next year. In rural elections, local development issues and social welfare schemes play a major role,” said a political observer.