GTA chief executive Anit Thapa, also the chief of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), on Tuesday outlined his plan to field a candidate with a "different" party symbol in the upcoming Lok Sabha election while addressing people at an IT park foundation stone laying event in Kurseong.
A BGPM hand-out stated that the symbol Thapa alluded to was that of Trinamul.
“We are a regional party. We can't contest the Lok Sabha election (on our own) as our votes will go to waste if we do not get votes from Siliguri and the plains. During the Lok Sabha polls, the candidate will be a Gorkha but the symbol will be different,” Thapa said.
The Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency consists of Darjeeling hills, the plains of Siliguri (part of Darjeeling district) and Chopra of North Dinajpur district. Plains voters outnumber the ones in the hills.
However, the hill votes have decided the Darjeeling seat in the past as they are not divided. Most hill voters back the candidate decided by the predominant hill ruling party. Right now, the BGPM seems to be the predominant hill party, for it swept both the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and panchayat polls.
However, an observer pointed out that the voting pattern in Lok Sabha polls might differ from regional elections. "Although the BGPM has a good grip on hill politics, it definitely can't take things easy in the Lok Sabha polls,” said an observer.
Thapa has been candid that they are in an alliance with Trinamul. “However, the acceptance of Trinamul in the hills has been low,” the observer added.
The BGPM chief said that the state government was playing a pivotal role in developing the hills. “For the sake of development in the hills we need to cast our vote,” he said, adding that the hills now believed in “practical politics” based on “delivery.”
“For 15 years, the hills voted to the tune of Gorkhaland,” said Thapa, hinting that the BJP failed to deliver on the statehood issue.
The BJP had promised a permanent political solution (PPS) for the region which many in the hills interpreted as the state of Gorkhaland. The party also promised tribal status to 11 hill communities in its 2019 election manifesto. Five years on, the promises are unmet.
“The BJP’s failure to deliver will be a major poll plank,” said a BGPM leader, but admitted that the party still would have to work hard to convince the hill residents to vote Trinamul.
