Election results of recently concluded Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) have reflected that people from the Darjeeling Hills region wanted to be represented by the people of their choice and not by the bureaucrats.
As a result the nine-month-old Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) led by former GTA chairman Anit Thapa swept the polls and emerged as the largest party in the much-awaited GTA elections in the Darjeeling hills by winning 27 of 45 seats on June 29. Newly floated outfit, Hamro Party, led by well-known local businessman Ajay Edwards, bagged eight seats followed by Trinamool Congress and the Independents five seats each in the GTA polls.
The BGPM, is a breakaway faction of Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). But GJM boycotted the GTA elections, held for the first time since 2017, in protest against its timing at this juncture.
Ground Before Election
BGPM which emerged as the single largest party is all set to take charge of the new GTA Board. Trinamool Congress which bagged a remarkable number of seats is equally a significant outcome of the GTA since this was for the first time that TMC had opened its account in GTA polls-a semi-autonomous council that governs the Darjeeling hills, by winning 50 per cent of (ten) seats they had contested.
Since GTA elections could not be held in 2017 due to nearly four months long violent statehood agitation in support of Gorkhaland, a state-appointed administrative body was appointed to look after the day to day work of the council as a stop gap measure till a fresh GTA election was held.
Though the state government was adamant to hold the GTA elections this year to install a legal autonomous council amid peaceful atmosphere in the hills, the supreme leader of GJM and former GTA Chairman Bimal Gurung decided to boycott the poll along with BJP and the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF). According to them, the time was not ripe for the GTA polls at the present juncture and demanded the postponement of elections at least for a few more months. In order to press for his demand Bimal Gurung even sat on a fast unto death at his party office in Darjeeling last month. But after five days he was admitted to a hospital in Sikkim after his condition deteriorated at the Dharna Manch. Terming GTA as an “unconstitutional body” BJP also stayed away from the polls though hills people had voted for BJP in Assembly and Lok Sabha elections on the promise that the party would pay attention to the long standing demands of the people of Darjeeling hills..
As the state government had made elaborate arrangements for a peaceful GTA election, a record number of 277 candidates filed their nominations for the 45 seats. Of the total number of aspirants 108 belonged to different political parties, while 169 others contested as independent candidates.
While Anit Thapa’s BGPM fielded candidates for 36 seats and to everybody’s surprise won as many as 27 of them to become the single largest party, the newly-formed Hamro Party, which sprang a surprise by winning Darjeeling municipality a few months ago, fielded candidates for all 45 seats and won only eight of them. On the other hand Trinamool Congress setting its foot in the hills as a separate political party for the first time contested 10 seats and won five of them, which was considered as a big success. Though Communist Party of India (Marxist) fielded 12 candidates and Congress five, both of them drew a blank and failed to open their account in the GTA polls. .
The last GTA elections were held way back in 2012, a year after this a regional autonomous body was formed following a tripartite agreement among the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), West Bengal government and the Centre. In that election GJM won all 45 seats rather effortlessly and without any real contest. But within the next five years GTA almost became a defunct body when its chief Bimal Gurung stepped down to press for his demand for a separate Gorkhaland. Soon a massive agitation began in the hills which continued for 101 days and witnessed a series of violent incidents and arson in all the three hills sub-divisions. As a result the TMC government was forced to run the day to day administration of GTA through bureaucrats since September 2017 as a lame duck measure.
The Rise and Rise of Trinamool
As the impressive performance of Trinamool Congress was one of the biggest surprises of the GTA elections, the West Bengal government’s bold decision to hold the poll on June 26 despite severe protests from the BJP, its ally GNLF and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, might have send the hill peoples popular and long standing demand for a separate ‘Gorkhaland’ state to back burner , at least for the time being.
This was more obvious during the three week long election campaign of all political parties including the leaders and supporters of both BGPM and Hamro party. Unlike previous occasions, this time everybody underscored the need for a speedy socio-economic development of the hills and its people. This has in turn helped TMC to make its presence felt in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong areas and helped the party to clinch at least five important seats for the first time.
Soon after the results for all the 45 seats were declared on June 29, BGPM Chief Anit Thapa stated that for smooth running of the 45 member Board, he would work in unison with Trinamool Congress, particularly with chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who after winning five seats also said she would extend her party’s (TMC) full and unconditional support to BGPM to form the new GTA Board .
2022 GTA polls may signal a fresh beginning for Darjeeling Hill politics, it is not yet known whether the issue of Gorkhaland has indeed taken a back seat permanently. Since the GTA polls and the success of parties favouring TMC, may find the winning of BGPM as a speed breaker as far as the issue of Gorkhaland is concerned, the politics in the mountains centering around the demand for a separate State of Gorkhaland could change any moment in the coming years..
Trinamool Congress which has been ruling the State for the past 11 years since 2011, has finally been able to establish its political dominance in almost entire Darjeeling hill areas.
In 2017, the politics in Darjeeling hills took a turn for the worse. The 101-day long violent agitation and the subsequent indefinite strike had split the GJM into two separate units. While its undisputed supreme leader Bimal Gurung had to leave the hills for nearly a year in 2017, facing a barrage of charges, his close aides Anit Thapa and Binay Tamang took over the charge of GTA with the financial support from the state government. Later, Tamang joined TMC and also won on party ticket.
The New Equation
Political observers are yet to study how the emerging political equations would ensure a permanent settlement of the political uncertainty in the hill areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts in the coming months or years.
Though Hamro party chief Ajay Edwards has already made it clear that his party would play the role of a constructive opposition in the new Board, Trinamool Congress chairperson and chief minister Mamata Banerjee is yet to clear her stand on the future running of GTA. In order to discuss the issue for smooth running of GTA, BGPM leader Anit Thapa is expected to hold a meeting with Chief minister Mamta Banerjee this week
The new equation might give hope for newer possibility for peace and prosperity to the people of Darjeeling Hills area, something which had eluded the region in past.