Vote TMC, Binay tells Dooars

Binay Tamang in Kalchini on Tuesday. Picture by Anirban Choudhury

TT, Alipurduar: Binay Tamang on Tuesday visited the Dooars and urged the Gorkhas to back "Trinamul only" in the rural polls for the development of the region.

Tamang was speaking at a rally in Kalchini in his second trip to the Dooars after he became the chief of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). He had visited Bagrakote in the region on March 5 this year.

According to insiders in his Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Tamang has been instructed by chief minister Mamata Banerjee to appeal to the people of the Dooars to vote Trinamul so that other parties cannot gain the support of the region's Gorkhas.

Large sections of the community in the area are seen as sympathetic to Tamang's Morcha rival Bimal Gurung. Gurung is perceived to be close to the BJP.

"After the meeting at Bagrakote, I decided I would visit different places in the Dooars. So I have come to Kalchini. I will visit Odlabari and other Gorkha-dominated places across the Dooars soon. I believe in reality-based politics not emotional politics," Tamang told reporters in Kalchini on Tuesday.

In reply to a question, Tamang stressed the importance of peace for development. "In the hills, after the restoration of peace, industrialists are coming forward. I believe in the Dooars too, schools, universities, industries will set up if TMC remains in power. So I appeal to every Gorkha person to vote for TMC candidates," Tamang said.

Asked about Gurung supporters in the Madarihat-Birpara area of the Dooars, Tamang said: "Earlier, the Gorkhas supported the BJP and BJP won the MLA's seat in 2016. This time, they will support TMC candidates only."