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Change of tide in Bengal Politics- Bimal Gurung breaks away from NDA and sides with TMC

A new political rift is taking place in West Bengal politics especially in the northern districts. Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) founder, Bimal Gurung who has been part of the BJP led NDA, has moved to a much politically promising and recognizing political party in context of the local politics. Gurung duly extended his support to Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) breaking ties with BJP.

Bimal had been out of public sight since 2017, since he was charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act when violence erupted in the Hills concerning the demand for statehood. He pledged his support for TMC and wished to see Mamata Banerjee again as the Chief Minister of Bengal for the third time.

Bimal Gurung feels that having been with the NDA, the numerous attempts to get the Hill tribes recognized by the government has gone in vain. He shared with the journalists in Kolkata that after several meetings with Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and the Home Minister, Amit Shah, none of the commitments made earlier in the past six years had been fulfilled. While the state’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has fulfilled all the promises she had committed with respective groups and organizations.

He further added that GJM will support the party that takes in consideration of the needs of the Gorkhas and the Hill tribes. All of this started with Bimal seeking BJP’s support to recognize the left out Indian Gorkha sub-tribes as Schedule Tribes and apparently this was to be done as per 2019 Sankalp Patra (Party Manifesto), which never took shape. Also, there were discussed commitments for the reservation of ‘Limboo’ and ‘Tamang’ Tribes in the legislative assembly of Sikkim.

GJM has been associated with BJP since 2009. It has played a crucial role in their wins in Darjeeling since 2009, and has helped in further seeking resolutions in Siliguri Terai and Dooars regions.

TMC has responded to Bimal’s political move and gesture on a positive note and has welcomed his action and shared a few lines on appreciating his move on the TMC Twitter handle.

Meanwhile, BPJ denied that it had promised a separate state to the GJM leader as mentioned by the State BJP chief, Dilip Ghosh. This decision by GJM is definitely being seen as a setback for the BJP in the North Bengal region that can potentially dampen the efforts for a favourable electoral result for BJP in the 2021 elections.

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Political parties in Darjeeling surprised as Centre changes Delhi meet’s agenda from Gorkhaland to GTA

Political parties in the Darjeeling were overwhelmed on Monday when the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sent a letter to the decision Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s (GJM) author Bimal Gurung-drove group and expressed that the plan of the gathering assembled in Delhi on Wednesday (October 7) had been changed from “issues identified with Gorkhaland” to “issues identified with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration” (GTA).

The GTA is the local autonomous body in the Darjeeling hills, led by the Binoy Tamang-led faction of the GJM supporting the TMC.

The meeting has been called by Union Minister of State (MoS) G. Kishan Reddy for MHA at the North Block office of the Ministry in the national capital.

HK Dwivedi, the newly appointed secretary of Bengal and district magistrate (DM) of Darjeeling, S. Ponnambalam, has been asked to attend the meeting.

The first letter was issued on 3 October and the second was sent two days later. Both letters are marked “most immediate”.

Significantly, both the letters are marked as “President, GJM” and the address mentioned is from the party’s founder Bimal Gurung’s office in North Point Singamari, Darjeeling.

Gurung signed the GTA agreement on behalf of the undivided GJM in July 2011.

The first letter was issued on October 3 and another was sent two days later. Both the letters are marked “most immediate”.

Gurung, who founded the GJM and launched a 104-day bandh in the Darjeeling hills in 2017 to demand a separate state, has since been charged by the state under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) Was 1967.

In November 2017, Gurung’s former lieutenant Tamang suspended him and his colleagues in his absence.

Anit Thapa, a leader of the GJM’s Tamang faction and chairman of the GTA’s board of administrators, said on Sunday, “The Center is fooling the Gurkhas. It has called a meeting as the Bengal assembly elections will be held next year. A court order said that both Gurung and Tamang are the presidents of the GJM. How can Gurung be invited alone for tripartite talks? ”

On Monday, Thapa was not accessible for input.

GJM pioneers, who have a place with the Tamang group, said they were amazed that the Center changed the plan of the gathering.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat threefold since 2009 by fashioning a partnership with the GJM. In 2019, the BJP had a partnership with the GJM’s Gurung group, the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), and other littler slope parties.

Since 2009, the BJP has been promising to locate a perpetual political answer for the long-forthcoming requests of individuals of Darjeeling, Siliguri, the Terai, and the Dooars district. The guarantees were made in the BJP’s political decision proclamations in 2014 and 2019 also.

Although not invited to the meeting, the chairman of the GNLF Darjeeling branch committee, Ajoy Edwards, first welcomed Centre’s move.

He had said that the GNLF is also an ally of the BJP. Reacting to the second letter, Edwards said, “We will hold our meeting in Darjeeling on the same day and take a call.”

TMC spokesperson and Dum Dum Lok Sabha member (MP) Saugat Roy said the Center has asked for a disturbance in the meeting as assembly elections are due in about six months.

“There is no official reason for calling the meeting. The Center simply wants to create unrest in the Darjeeling hills. Also, the letter is addressed directly to the state government officials. We had repeatedly told the Center that this should not be done and instead communication should be sent to the state government, ”Roy said.