GTA polls in Darjeeling hills to be held after 10 years
Uncertainty had been looming over the West Bengal government’s decision to hold the election in the hills after the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) moved the Calcutta high court demanding a stay on the election
Elections for the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in West Bengal’s Darjeeling hills are scheduled to be held on Sunday after a gap of 10 years, even as a section of the political parties have boycotted the polls.
In all 277 candidates will be contesting the election, including 178 independent candidates, which is a record, officials said. There are 700,326 voters. Counting will take place on June 29.
“Everything is peaceful and hope the election will be held in a very peaceful manner,” said S Poonambalam, district magistrate of Darjeeling and GTA election officer.
Uncertainty was looming over the West Bengal government’s decision to hold the election in the hills after the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) moved the Calcutta high court demanding a stay on the election. The court on Friday, however, allowed the GTA election to be held as scheduled on Sunday.
The GNLF that led the violent Gorkhaland movement between 1986 and 1988 that resulted in the formation of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) considers the GTA was formed illegally and it has also questioned the constitutional validity of the GTA.
A section of political parties including the GNLF, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CPRM) and All India Gorkha League (AIGL), which are alliance partners in the hills of North Bengal, are opposed to the GTA election.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) which had won all the 45 seats, including 28 uncontested, is also opposed to the GTA election. The GJM was one of the three signatories in the tripartite GTA agreement in July 2011. Other signatory parties were the West Bengal government and the Centre.
The Trinamool Congress, the Congress, the CPI(M) and some newly formed parties like Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), led by former GJM leader Anit Thapa and Hamro Party, led by Ajoy Edwards the owner of Darjeeling’s famous bakery Glenary’s, are contesting.
Elections to the GTA were last held in 2012 and were scheduled in again in 2017. The state government had, however, nominated former GJM leaders Binoy Tamang and Anit Thapa to head the GTA after the failed 2017 Gorkhaland movement led by the GJM. Since 2021 the GTA is being run by bureaucrats.
The GJM that ruled the GTA absolutely for five years since 2012 started the Gorkhaland movement just before the five-year-long tenure of the elected GTA body ended in 2017.
Since then, chaos prevailed and 11 Gorkhaland supporters were killed in police firing.
The GJM’s movement demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland in 2017 also resulted in the 104-day-long general strike in Darjeeling hills. Since then, the GJM split, Bimal Gurung the GJM president and many others went into hiding. Finally, Gurung resurfaced in Kolkata in October 2020 and pledged his support to the TMC and severed his alliance which was there with the BJP since 2009.
The GJM since 2017 has lost a substantial support base while parties like BGPM and Hamro Party have emerged as strong forces. Hamro Party even won the last election for Darjeeling Municipality.
Bimal Gurung had sat for a five-day-long fast demanding that the state government should honour the GTA agreement in letter and spirit and demanding inclusion of 396 mouzas of Terai and the Dooars in the GTA. Though his party is not contesting the election, many of his trusted people after resigning from the party are participating.
Roshan Giri the GJM general secretary said: “Gurung and I will not cast our votes.”
Pravakar Dewan, a senior advocate who is leading pro-Gorkhaland non-political groups said “I request people to boycott the election.”
The GJM, GNLF, BJP and AIGL are likely to come out with statements on what they will finally do in Sunday’s election.