Gjmm men choose to campaign for Tmc

Manas R. Bannerjee, SNS, Samsing (Jalpaiguri), 22 July 2013:Although the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) chief Mr Bimal Gurung had vehemently denounced chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee about her ‘rough and tough’ attitude a few months back and condemned a series of rape incidents, the murder of a police officer during campus violence, chit fund scam and even claimed that the CPI-M’s style of functioning was better, 50 per cent of his followers at Samsing, which was recommended by retired Mr Justice Shyamal Sen for inclusion in the GTA, joined the Trinamul and they are campaigning for the TMC candidates for Metelihaat panchayat. Similarly at Chalouni, another mouza recommended for inclusion, where majority Nepali-speaking people, paying no heed to Mr Bimal Gurung, are campaigning for Trinamul candidates. 

Only two political parties ~ Trinamul Congress and GJMM ~ are contesting at Samsing and Chalouni. Other political parties could not enter there, a stronghold of Mr Gurung. From Oodlabari to Samsing via Malbazar and Chalsa, the wave of change in favour of Miss Mamata Banerjee continues, either the side of another lifeline of Green Dooars for tourism in the Malbazar sub-division in Jalpaiguri, despite people being unhappy with her present role to rule the state. 

A fish trader, Mr Sukaru Muhammad, a resident of Oodlabari, said: “People are not happy with Mamata Banerjee’s present role but they don’t think the CPI-M should return to power. The Oodlabari gram panchayat was under the control of the CPI-M. Out of 26 seats, the CPI-M had won 21 seats and the Congress had bagged only five. But this time, the CPI-M fielded only 17 candidates here.” 

“I was a CPI-M supporter. I decided to support the Trinamul when 14 people were killed in police firing in Nandigram. In the past two years, the CPI-M has grabbed money only. The CPI-M panchayat members, who had bicycles only, now have flats in Siliguri and use their own cars frequently. 

Thus, people want to bring the TMC as the party in power this term and also for the development of their villages,” Mr Muhammad said. 

At a time when the Left Front leaders backed by the CPI-M are campaigning against Miss Mamata Banerjee’s misrule raising recent incidents of rape, campus violence, financial catastrophe in the state and irrelevant comments on sensitive issues, the Trinamul Congress here has decided to focus on ‘peace and progress’ condemning the GJMM’s demand for inclusion of additional areas bifurcating Terai-Dooars region. 

With a view to securing sympathy of the anti-GJMM people in the multi-ethnic Dooars, including Adivasi and other communities, the Trinamul leaders highlighted the state government’s stance on the GTA and several schemes for a series of developments in Jalpaiguri, including proposal for a separate Terai-Dooars development council, tourism hub and separate district of Alipurduar bifurcating the existing Jalpaiguri district. 

Besides the tea belt, to appease farmers the TMC leaders did not hesitate to claim that Miss Mamata Banerjee’s protest against the Teesta water sharing treaty with Bangladesh was in the interest of agriculturists here. Significantly, hundreds of small tea growers in Jalpaiguri had adopted a resolution against Miss Mamata Banerjee-led state government for its reluctance to develop the tea industry and to clear thousands of pending applications for issuing ‘no objection certificate’ for them, which was started during the Left regime for validation of small growers. But they do not understand why people are still running after Miss Mamata Banerjee when she has no specific plan for industrialisation and development of its basic infrastructure when people of Singur have been deprived from employment as well ‘compensation’ after Tata Motors left for Sananda. 

A Malbazar-based hotel owner, Mr Bapi Das, said: “We saw the Congress, the Trinamul and BJP leaders could not field their candidates during the Left regime. History repeats itself. We are watching that the CPI-M has no manpower to contest all GP seats. The question is whether the Trinamul will be able to retain its present organisation in future.” 

 A resident of Samsing, Mr Madan Sharma, a bus driver by profession, said: “The people of Samsing is divided into two groups equally. A large section of the people joined the Trinamul. We are expecting a tough fight between TMC and GJMM candidates at Samsing and Chalouni.” “Both the GJMM and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha are jointly contesting here jointly with a view to win some seats so that they can renew the demand for inclusion of additional areas for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. People here have realised that the demand for Gorkhaland is a distant dream,” Mr Sharma said. 

Residents of Samsing, Mr Dipen Chhetri, a college student, and Prakash Tamang, a trader, Mr R K Chhetri, a government employee, were discussing about the fate of Jalpaiguri zilla parishad and expressed doubt about TMC’s chances due to organisational weaknesses in tea belts where other political parties would split votes. 

A TMC supporter, Mr Dipen Chhetri, said: “People here are running after the Trinamul because north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb sanctioned Rs 63 lakh for the drinking water project based on the river Murti at Samsing. But we do not know how people will respond to TMC in the Left and Congress dominated belt at a time when Adivasi people are divided under the banner of four political parties.” 

A primary school teacher, Mr Rajesh Lakra, said: “Adivasi people will cast votes politically and a good number of the Adivasi people will respond to the ruling party ~ TMC.”