Beyond TMC vs BJP, what is this confusion about GJM in West Bengal election?
Beyond TMC vs BJP, what is this confusion about GJM in West Bengal election?
While West Bengal election is a tight contest between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), GJM appears to be a key player in the polls. Why is GJM significant in West Bengal election? Read here.
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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung (Photos: PTI)
When Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced her Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidates for the West Bengal Assembly election, she left three seats for friends in the Darjeeling Hills. The friends were from the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).
Darjeeling and Gorkha politics will test the BJP’s vision for West Bengal and beyond
The three seats of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong in the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal may count for little numerically in the State Assembly of 294 members, but their political significance is a different story. The demand for a separate Gorkhaland State in the hills has singularly driven politics among the Gorkha population for more than three decades now. The agitation has been often violent. In 2017, during the last eruption of violence, the hills were in blockade for 104 days and several people were killed. The BJP’s close involvement with Gorkha politics suggests that it has certain plans for the region, which could have ripples in other parts of the country where demands for autonomy or separate States exist. It was in Darjeeling that the BJP got its foothold into West Bengal. From 2009 to 2019, the region sent a BJP member to the Lok Sabha. The BJP’s traditional position in favou
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi went all out against the saffron camp in his first campaign outing in the Assembly elections in Bengal on Wednesday for his party nominees from the districts of Darjeeling and North Dinajpur.
“We should not allow the BJP to come to power in this state. Wherever the BJP and the RSS go, they indulge in divisive politics. They spread hatred and create rifts among people… it is in their DNA,” said the Congress leader.
Rahul addressed public rallies in Goalpokhor (North Dinajpur district) and in Shivmandir, on the outskirts of Siliguri (Darjeeling district).
“The BJP will try to stoke fires in the state. None from the BJP would be affected by it…. it is the people of Bengal who will suffer,” he said.
Updated:
April 15, 2021 22:34 IST
With the birth of factions and shifting of alliances, there does not seem to be a dominant player in this region of West Bengal
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With the birth of factions and shifting of alliances, there does not seem to be a dominant player in this region of West Bengal
Like the steep and narrow roads leading to Darjeeling, politics in these hills of West Bengal is marked by twists and turns. However, amidst the changing seasons, the demand for a separate State of Gorkhaland has remained at the centre of its politics.
The 2021 Assembly polls in the three seats of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong will be held on April 17.
Gorkhaland Demand Takes Backseat As Factions Fight For Political Supremacy Gorkhaland Demand Takes Backseat As Factions Fight For Political Supremacy Bimal Gurungs return from hiding after a span of three years and his fight with Binay Tamang for control over the region, however, has changed political equations.
The sparring entities have fielded candidates, who would be contesting as Independents from the seats.
Darjeeling:
With the two factions of the GJM one led by Bimal Gurung and the other by his former deputy Binay Tamang fighting for supremacy in the Darjeeling Hills, the imbroglio over Gorkhaland has taken a back seat this election, as key stakeholders pitch for development amid the COVID-19 crisis.