The Darjeeling hills are ready to vote in rural elections after 22 years on Friday but with a general feeling of stepping into uncharted territories.
Gideon Lepcha, 70, had first won from Alubari-Fulbari Busty gram panchayat seat in 1978. He was re-elected the next time and ensured the victory of a candidate backed by him in 2000 fighting against the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF)'s nominee.
However, Lepcha is unsure of what to expect after this year’s polls.
“With the GTA and then the panchayat samiti, I am not sure of the functions of these two different bodies,” said Lepcha.
Even the candidates for panchayat samitis are unsure of their functions. “We will learn on the job. Let’s wait and watch,” said a candidate who won a panchayat samiti seat uncontested.
Panchayat samitis had not existed in the hills since 1986. “I was forced to resign as a member of the gram panchayat by GNLF cadres just before the start of the 1986 Gorkhaland agitation,” recalled Lepcha.
In 1988, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), a first-of-its-kind administrative experiment in the county, was formed. Subash Ghisingh, GNLF leader who headed the DGHC from 1988 to 2008, did not want panchayat samitis fearing that their functions would clash with those of the council.
The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) that runs the GTA, however, maintains that the provisions of the GTA Act ensure that the GTA has the functions of a zilla parishad and they would not clash with those of panchayat samitis.
“Sections 34 and 35 of the GTA Act state that until zilla parishad is constituted, the powers and functions of zilla parishad under Sections from 153 to 162 of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973, will be exercised by the GTA,” said a BGPM leader.
However, many in the hills say it needs to be seen whether the panchayat act will be amended to recognise the GTA as a body which can function as a zilla parishad or supervise this body.
There are also questions on whether the infrastructure for the smooth functioning of rural governance is in place.
“Elected panchayat system has been missing for so long. So, there is bound to be an infrastructure lacuna,” said a retired government official.
Large sections of populations in the hills, however, are also appreciating the rural polls on the ground that the lack of the panchayat system had created hardship for villagers. “Gram panchayat is an important setup and this has been missing from the hills for long,” said a local BGPM leader.
Many are also lauding the peaceful situation. “I had to face the threat of social boycott, I perceived a danger to my life. I think the situation has improved now. The threat seems to have gone, horse trading seems to have entered hill politics,” said Lepcha.
Doma Sherpa, an Independent candidate who won uncontested from Sukhiapokhri near Darjeeling, joined the BGPM on Friday. To date, 63 BGPM candidates have won uncontested in the hills.
