The Kurseong, Mirik and Kalimpong municipalities in the Darjeeling hills seem to be singing and dancing to the polls.
Elections to the three civic boards are due in a couple of months. The last polls were held in 2017 and with the end of the tenure of the elected councillors, boards of administrators currently run the municipalities.
The boards at Kurseong and Kalimpong have the nominees of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM). The Mirik board is packed with the representatives of the Trinamool Congress, an ally of the BGPM. The TMC won the polls for the Mirik municipality in 2017, the first time the party grabbed a civic body in the hills.
This week, it has all been about festivals in the three towns.
While the Kurseong municipality organised the Kurseong White Orchid Festival from January 24 to 26, the Mirik municipality held the Mirik Mahotsav from January 25 to 27.
The Kalimpong Municipality Fest 2025 was inaugurated on Tuesday and will continue for the next three days.
Interestingly, the three municipalities have clearly stated that the events are being supported by the BGPM.
“We have learnt from people who have recently left the BGPM and joined our party that these events were conceived by the BGPM keeping in mind the upcoming civic elections,” said Ajoy Edwards, the convener of the Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF).
Opponents of the BGPM and the TMC alleged that the BGPM was forced to woo the urban population to cover up the poor performance of the three municipalities.
“After being in power for more than seven years, the party is being forced to organise such events to cover up their poor performance. The people are smart enough to see through this act,” said Edwards, whose party is the largest Opposition group in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).
The festivals have been organised on a grand scale with some of the best performers from the community from India and Nepal being invited to the shows. Felicitation programmes and marathons were also part of the fests.
Amar Lama, the general secretary of the BGPM, however, denied the allegation levelled by the Opposition camp.
“Recently, MELOtea FEST was organised in Darjeeling and there were requests from people of other areas to organise similar fests in their areas. That is why this initiative was undertaken,” said Lama, who is also the chief advisor to the chief executive of the GTA, Anit Thapa.
The Darjeeling MELOtea FEST was organised by Darjeeling police with support from the GTA from December 19 to 22.