Bimal Gurung’s fifth day of hunger strike on Sunday was marked by high drama as leaders of his party, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, held a meeting with visiting BJP leaders and its hill allies in Darjeeling.

In the evening, Gurung was admitted to the Darjeeling district hospital. However, it is not known if he broke his fast — which he started to press for demands such as provisions in the 2011 GTA memorandum of agreement be implemented in letter and spirit and 396 mouzas from plains be included within the GTA before elections are held — in hospital.

In the morning, leaders of the saffron camp and its allies who came to visit Gurung at the hunger strike venue at Singamari included Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, Union minister of state for minority development John Barla and Darjeeling MLA Neeraj Zimba.

The Morcha ended its 12-year old alliance with the BJP in 2020 to join hands with Trinamul.

Bista and others met Morcha leaders, including Roshan Giri, at a site a little away from Gurung’s hunger strike for an hour long meeting. After the meeting ended, Giri in the afternoon did not reveal details of it but said that like Bista and others, Bengal minister Bulu Chik Baraik, who had visited Gurung on Saturday, had also appealed to Gurung to end his fast. “He is not listening to us,” Giri then said.

A few hours later around 5pm, Morcha supporters staged a blockade at Lebong Cart Road and in front of the venue of the fast demanding Gurung seek medical attention. “A warrior must live to carry on the war,” went the refrain.

Gurung was hospitalised. Giri then told The Telegraph: “It (Gurung's hunger strike) was lifted on medical grounds. His health was deteriorating rapidly. He is a diabetic.”

However, Giri and other leaders said at other forums that Gurung had not “technically ended his hunger strike as he was not eating anything in the hospital”.

Earlier during the day, Darjeeling MP Bista had said that all efforts, including seeking the Centre’s intervention, were being sought to stop the GTA elections.

“I believe that plans to hold the GTA election is a conspiracy of the state government and to stop this the Centre will intervene, the Union home affairs ministry will intervene. Today, the governor (Jagdeep Dhankhar) himself has come to Darjeeling for the next 10-12 days and I welcome him and am hopeful that we will be able to stop (the GTA elections) and I am trying,” said Bista.

The Darjeeling MP also highlighted that Calcutta High Court would be hearing the plea against the GTA soon.

A little before Gurung’s hospitalisation, Bista led a delegation of hill alliance partners to governor Dhankar at Raj Bhavan in Darjeeling and requested the governor to stop the election.
“… in the interest of our national security and respecting the majority local sentiments, we have requested his kind intervention to put a stop to this farce of an election that the WB Govt is forcefully seeking to impose...,” read Bista’s written statement.

Trinamul named candidates for 10 GTA seats. Notable among them are Binay Tamang, N.B. Khawash and Dinesh Gurung. Anit Thapa’s Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha has so far announced 20 candidates. The GTA has 45 constituencies.