Bimal Gurungâs waning political popularity reflects the economic struggles of Gorkhas
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On 14 April, after spending three years underground, Bimal Gurung addressed a mammoth gathering in Darjeeling. Gurung is one of the most recognisable faces of the Gorkhaland movement, which has long agitated for a separate state to represent the Nepali-speaking community along the northernmost reaches of West Bengal. He is the founder of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the primary political vehicle of the Gorkhaland movement, and was previously the chairperson of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration,
an autonomous administration representing Gorkha majority regions. In the recent West Bengal assembly electionsâthe fifth phase, which included all regions of the GTA, was held on 17 AprilâGurungâs GJM suffered a serious loss, losing all three hill seats in the Gorkha majority region to a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party and a breakaway fact