The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), which has remained steadfast in “development” politics so far, dropped broad hints on Monday that it was veering toward identity-based issues.

BGPM president Anit Thapa, who is also the chief executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), coined a new slogan for the party — “Hamro bhumi, hamro naam; afno mato, afno naam” which broadly means that “our name should be recorded against our land”.

“We have many goals to achieve. Eighty per cent of our people do not have their names recorded against their land. We today pledge to work for hamro bhumi, hamro naam; afno mato, afno naam,” Thapa said while addressing the party’s fourth foundation day at Mirik on Monday.

Thapa’s new slogan is the iteration of the long-standing demand in the Darjeeling hills that the Bengal government grant land rights to people who have been living on tea and cinchona plantations for generations.

The government had agreed to grant five decimals of land to tea garden dwellers but the decision was withdrawn following large-scale protests in the hills against the five-decimal cap.

In November 2023, the government issued a fresh notice to “resume survey work in tea gardens in GTA areas without reference to any limitations on area held”.

“The demand is old and the government had also started the work to grant land rights. But Thapa’s slogan hints that he is looking to intertwine this demand with the identity politics of the hills,” said an observer.

Until now, Thapa had solely been relying on the “development” plank.

The demand for Gorkhaland is also seen as an issue of the identity of the Indian Gorkhas.

Of late, many political parties tried to realign themselves and turned their tirade against Thapa’s party for being aloof from the identity issue.

“Since these voices are finding traction in the hills, Thapa seems to be slowly veering towards issues connected with the identity of the hill people,” said the observer.

Thapa, who had earlier said Gorkhaland was a demand that needed to be pursued by apolitical groups at the national level, on Monday said once the land rights were taken care of, the larger issue of the community must be looked into.

Bharatia Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha supporters in 4th Foundation Day celebration at Mirik on Monday. The Telegraph picture

The BGPM leader didn’t, however, elaborate.

Recently, the Thapa-led GTA issued a notice saying all notifications of the hill body would be issued in Nepali, along with English.

On Monday, the BGPM chief said his party would take up the demand for tribal status for 11 Gorkha communities.

“Delimitation of constituencies will be held in 2026 and we must work towards having nine Assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha segment solely in the hills,” said Thapa. “It is then that we can work towards fulfilling our dream.”

At the moment, there are three Assembly constituencies in the hills. The Darjeeling Lok Sabha segment encompasses not only the hills but also the plains, including the Chopra Assembly constituency in North Dinajpur.