The BJP has decided to protest against the state government’s “practice” to set up Boards of Administrators to run civic bodies instead of holding elections.

The BJP has also decided to take up the issue with Central authorities concerned after the state government failed to hold elections to some civic, rural and other bodies after the end of their term, like the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC).

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Notably, there is no elected rural bodies in Darjeeling and Kalimpong ever since the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). Rural polls were also not held after the GTA, which replaced the DGHC, was set up by the Trinamul Congress-led state government in 2011.

“After depriving Darjeeling and Kailmpong Hills of legitimate elected grassroots level governance for years, TMC is now doing the same with the Silguri sub-division. Major parts of rural areas in Siliguri today do not have any official, elected or bureaucrat running the Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Samitis,” Darjeeling MP Raju Bista said today.

“BJP will not allow such subversion of democratic institutions. We will be requesting Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union Minister for Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar to kindly intervene to ensure early elections to all these bodies, in order to uphold the sanctity of these grassroots level governance institutions, and to protect the rights of our citizens,” said Mr Bista, who is also the BJP’s national spokesperson.

The tenure of 20 Gram Panchayats and four Panchayat Samitis in the plains of Darjeeling district ended on 6 November and 8 November, while the tenure of some others and the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad is set to end soon.

“Yet, the TMC government in West Bengal is sleeping and has not taken any step to either conduct elections or ensure continual functioning of these bodies,” Mr Bista said, adding, “This is causing widespread distress to the people as they are having difficulties in procuring Birth/Death/ Income/Residential or any other Certificate, Scavenging, MGNREGA work and payment etc are also suffering,” MR Bista said.

According to him, the TMC government has displayed absolute disregard for the constitution and democracy, and “promoted these bodies to be managed in autocratic manner by nominating their loyalists to run similar bodies in Darjeeling Hills.’