Bimal Gurung’s assertion on his return to Darjeeling that he would win the three hill Assembly seats even if elections were held immediately has come as a fresh poser for new-found ally Trinamul.

The Trinamul is in alliance with both rival factions of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha headed by Gurung and Binay Tamang, and bitterness has escalated with this assertion. Also, within Trinamul, leaders are questioning how the party can accept the support of someone who openly wants a separate state of Gorkhaland to be carved out of Bengal.

Gurung, at a public meeting at Darjeeling Motor Stand on Sunday, had said: “We will sweep the three hill seats. Let elections be held today, tomorrow or anytime. We are now looking at defeating the BJP in 17 seats in north Bengal.”

Keshav Raj Pokhrel, spokesman of the Tamang camp tore into Gurung’s claim: “Let him name the 17 seats that he thinks he can influence in north Bengal. I am sure he will not be able to name them.”

Pokhrel’s statement shows these two factions would continue to target each other and any chance of their truce for the Bengal polls appears dim.

Sources said the Tamang camp was in no mood to concede all three hill seats to the Gurung camp. “It will be seen as a complete surrender by the Tamang camp to the Gurung camp,” said an observer.

A fresh instance of acrimony between the factions came to the fore on Monday with a video clip of a man resembling Kunal Pradhan, a leader of Tamang camp from Kalimpong, threatening Gurung’s life. Gurung supporters hit the streets in Kalimpong in protest.

Trinamul seems to have no option but field their candidates and seek support from both factions. But the Trinamul symbol is not popular in the hills. A leader from the Gurung camp at the Sunday public meeting stated she too may not vote for Trinamul and requested the party to leave the hills to them, though the Gurung camp immediately issued a clarification stating it was only her personal opinion.

However, grumbles against the Trinamul-Gurung tie-up from within Trinamul are getting louder in the plains.

District Trinamul leaders in Jalpaiguri on Monday distanced themselves from the Gurung camp saying he extended support to them on his own.

Khageswar Roy, Trinamul MLA and chairman of the district committee, and Dulal Debnath, a spokesperson of the party in Jalpaiguri, tried to drive home the point that their party did not support Gorkhaland.

“We are against Gorkhaland and do not want any division of the state. As far as Bimal Gurung is concerned, we do not have any alliance and it is his own decision to support us,” said Debnath.

Party insiders said during the past few weeks, questions were being raised within the party, especially in tribal belts as to how Trinamul could accept support from Gurung who wants Gorkhaland. The recent defection to the BJP of Sukra Munda, Trinamul MLA of Nagrakata, and Dashrath Tirkey, a former Trinamul MP and chairman of Alipurduar district committee of the party, is also over Gurung’s decision to support Mamata Banerjee’s party.

Hill team meets Shah

A delegation of BJP allies from Darjeeling met Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Monday evening. Shah assured them of tribal status for 11 hill communities before Bengal elections, but said a permanent political solution would come after the polls, ABGL leader Pratap Khati said. The other parties in the delegation led by BJP MP Raju Bista included GNLF, CPRM, Sumeti Mukti Morcha and Gorkhaland Rajya Nirman Morcha.

Additional reporting by our Jalpaiguri correspondent.