The Hindu Business Line : <I>Tea growing constituencies pick winners </I>

Is there a design in the fact that all the tea-growing constituencies that went to polls last month have voted for the winning combinations in their respective tea-growing States or is it that the individual political parties concerned managed to win the tea workers' support through their own, unconnected organisational effort?

An interesting aspect of Thursday election results is that the tea workers in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Assam have voted in favour of the winners.

While Assam and West Bengal produce the whole of North India teas, the two southern States produce the biggest chunk of South India teas.

In the four States, the constituencies that cover the tea-growing areas have all elected representatives of winning political parties.

The Assam tea belt, for example, has not been too happy with the performance of the ruling Congress Government and the region is not a traditional support base of the Congress either.

However, an arrangement between Congress and All Assam Tea Tribes Association and subsequent splitting of opposition votes between BJP and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) ensured that Congress would rule the State for the next five years.

Most striking in TN

Tamil Nadu results are the simplest but most striking. There are 10 constituencies in the tea plantation area, of which eight belonged to AIADMK and two were with the Congress.

This time Congress has succeeded in retaining its two seats but in rest of the eight constituencies the vote has been transferred to the DMK.

Kerala's plantation sector, which includes rubber and coffee, apart from tea, has voted unanimously for the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

Of the 10 constituencies, eight were won by CP(I)M and one by Janata Dal (S) of the same front. Kerala Congress (M) of United Democratic Front (UDF) has won a seat. Of these 10 seats, five are in the tea belt, which elected four Marxist legislators.

In West Bengal, as expected, Darjeeling tea workers elected Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) candidates and Left Front members were elected from the Dooars and Terai region.