The Trinamul Congress is banking on development projects to win the rural elections in the four Gram Panchayats (GP)–Dabgram-I and II and Fulbari-I and II (82 seats) under the Rajganj Block in Jalpaiguri district.

Ahead of the polls, tourism minister Gautam Deb held the party’s first road show with candidates in rural areas under the Dabgram-II GP as part of their election campaigning on Friday.

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The roadshow covered a stretch of around 5 km, with hundreds of supporters marching. Sending across a message to dissidents contesting the polls, Mr Deb said the party has requested them to withdraw their candidatures, and also warned them that the party would act tough on them if they fail to do so.

Party sources said many dissidents have also filed nomination papers in the GPs. “There had been no development in the areas during the regime of the erstwhile Left Front government. We have envisioned the Dabgram-Fulbari constituency as a model area in the rural sector. The state government led by Mamata Banerjee has initiated a lot of development projects in these areas. We are getting overwhelming response from the people,” Mr Deb said.

Mr Deb is the two-time MLA from the Dabgram-Fulbari constituency, which covers four GPs. “Concrete roads have been built and widened, and a lot of projects were introduced for better connectivity. There is a plan for construction of a flyover, while 17 bridges have already been constructed. People are also availing of benefits under the social security schemes. A fire station is coming up, and land has been earmarked for the ESI hospital. We have also taken up beautification projects and many others. People are in favour of the Trinamul Congress,” he added.

Dabgram-Fulbari comprises 14 wards under the Siliguri Municipal Corporation. There are 30 GP seats and three panchayat samitis (PS) in Dabgram-II, 10 GP seats and two PS in Dabgram-I, while in Fulbari-I there are 22 GP seats and three PS, while Fulbari- II covers 20 GP seats and three PS. Trinamul Congress leaders said party candidates have won two GP seats in Fulbari-II.

During the last polls in 2013, the CPI-M won Dabgram- I and Fulbari-II GPs, while the ruling party failed to win in all the four GPs. Trinamul Congress later wrested control of all the GPs. Trinamul now controls nine of the 11 panchayat samitis, while the remaining two are under the CPI-M.

Despite repeated warnings from Mr Deb to party workers against being involved in grabbing of government land in the area, opposition parties have started highlighting the issue in their campaigns. A few months ago, a prominent Trinamul Congress leader of the area, Sikha Chatterjee, quit the party and joined the BJP.

Many party leaders, however, believe it would not have any impact on the prospects of the ruling party when it comes to winning the elections. “BJP is not a factor, and many people have rejected the CPI-M for its misguided principles,” Mr Deb said.

Talking about opposition parties’ allegations of intimidation, Mr Deb said that if the candidates of other parties feel insecure, he would ensure their security if they informed him of such a situation directly.

“We did not pose any threat and did not prevent candidates of the Opposition parties from contesting. At the same time, it is also not our job to ensure that they can contest. If informed about any such issue, I will take initiatives to take steps. We do not believe in such politics. Rather, I would have been happy had they fielded candidates for all the seats,” he said.