Shanta Chhetri promises to work for people and party

EOI, DARJEELING, 21 May 2017: Having lost in the recent civic election, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) nonetheless decided to reward Shanta Chhetri by nominating her as the party’s MP candidate for the Rajya Sabha election.

TMC chief Mamata Banerjee in her official social media account posted the names of Chhetri, Derek Obrien, Shukhendu Sekhar Roy, Manas Bhunia and Dola Sen as the party candidates for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha election.

Chhetri’s nomination, political analysts felt had greater ramifications for the TMC, as the party is seeing a run of green patch in the hills. The party managed to crack the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha hegemony in the hills by winning the Mirik municipality. It also won three seats in Kurseong, two in Kalimpong and one in Darjeeling which is a first by any mainstream political party.

“It makes sense politically for the TMC to nominate an MP from the hills. It has always been the trend that to increase their base in the region political parties have given a face from the region. This time the TMC has made a major breakthrough in the hills. Having a local MP in the Rajya Sabha will definitely auger well for the TMC party in the long run,” the analyst pointed.

Chhetri is a senior TMC leader from Kurseong and was earlier associated with the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF). She was also a three time MLA with the GNLF and was made the chairman of the Rogi Kalyan Samity after she joined the TMC.

Chhetri had contested the civic election from ward 7 of Kurseong municipality but lost to Shyam Sherpa, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha candidate.

The TMC leader from Kurseong when told her nomination expressed gratitude to Mamata Banerjee for reposing faith on her and said she would work for what her party stood for. “I sincerely thank Didi for having faith in me and nominating me for the Rajya Sabha MP election.

As MP I will follow my party’s directives and also give my best to work to help people of my region,” Chhetri said, today.

N.B.Khawas, the working president of the hills TMC said Chhetri’s nomination reflected Mamata’s love for the hills. “She (Mamata) does what she talks unlike others. She is keeping all her promises and nominating Chhetri for the Rajya Sabha election is also one of the many ways of showering her love to the hills and its people. I congratulate Chhetri for her nomination,” he said.

The GJM leadership also extended their congratulation to Chhetri and said it was good for the statehood cause. “On behalf of my party I congratulate “Shanta didi” for being nominated from the hills. It is good that a Gorkha ‘cheli’ (sister) will be in Rajya Sabha. I hope that when she the issue of separate state is placed in the upper house, she will support the cause. She was a three time MLA with the GNLF party riding on the statehood demand,” said Binay Tamang, the GJM assistant general secretary, when asked for his statement.

Other Gorkhas from the hills who had served as RS MPs were Maya Devi Chhetri, Badri Narayan Pradhan, K.B.Chhetri, T.S.Gurung, Dawa Lama, R.B.Rai and Saman Pathak.