Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha leader Binoy Tamang today said that his faction of the party will announce the names of election candidates for the three Hill Assembly constituencies on 21 March. Mr Tamang added that though in alliance with the Trinamul Congress, they would not campaign jointly in the Hills, but would support them in their “own way.”

“We will announce the names of the candidates for the Hills on Sunday from Mungpo, when we will also announce our manifesto, which will have 52 issues. Even though we have an alliance with the TMC, we will not campaign with that party in the Hills. They will support us and have their own strategy to make our candidates victorious,” said Tamang.

The announcement comes days after the other camp of the Morcha led by Bimal Gurung said that it would announce the names of their candidates for the Hill seats on 23 March. With both camps of the Morcha in alliance with the TMC, but fielding their own candidates, political analysts here said that the decision to not campaign jointly in the Hills could be due to the TMC wanting to avoid the rivalry between the two Morcha camps.

Moreover, many are also of the opinion that a majority of the people in the Hills would not accept the TMC due to which they do not want to come together in a single platform to campaign for a candidate.

Asked about the campaign strategy, Tamang said, “We cannot tell you the reasons, but it is an understanding we have with them. However, we will be jointly campaigning together in the plains for their candidates. We have a coordination committee consisting of 55 members, which will work in supporting their candidates in areas between Elanbari to Kumargram. We have similar committees, which will work to support their candidates in Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar.”

The Gurung faction has also been working to support TMC candidates in the plains.

A state of confusion has also come up in the Hills, with both the camps in alliance with the TMC but fielding their own candidates.

“TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, by maintaining that the three Hill seats have been left for her friends has only added to the confusion,” a political observer here said.

Political pundits maintain that this could only damage the election results for the TMC, given the division of votes, while some are of the belief that it will put the TMC in an advantageous position as it can side with whichever Morcha camp emerges victorious in the end.

Asked about the alliance the TMC has with the Gurung faction, Tamang said, “I do not want to comment on the Gurung faction, but as far as the alliance with the TMC goes, they have not been seen with any of their senior leaders in a single platform till now. How you see their alliance in this background is up to you. All this could be a strategy of the TMC as well.”

Both the camps filing their own candidates has also posed a dilemma for TMC (Hills) leaders and supporters, who remain undecided as to which camp they should support.