One-to-one meet between CM & Gurung may defuse tension....hints-possibility of a coalition

THE MEETING COULD ALSO ACT AS A FACILITATOR FOR GURUNG RETURNING BACK TO THE GTA AS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE. 
GURUNG HAS BEEN CONSTANTLY HINTING AT THIS STATING THAT THE PUBLIC WANTS HIM BACK AS THE GTA CHIEF. HE COULD WELL USE THE MEETING AS A PLATFORM FOR HIS RETURN DARJEELING:

Amitava Banerjee, THT, Darjeeling, 15 December 2013: All eyes are trained on the meeting scheduled between chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha President Bimal Gurung in Kolkata on December 20.

Political experts feel that the meeting will be able to defuse the ongoing tension between the two sides. Lok Sabha elections will also feature in the meeting. Spurred by the UPA’s decision to carve out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh, the GJM had alighted on the agitation path for a separate state after July 30. 

GJM president Bimal Gurung also resigned from the post of GTA chief executive member. Widespread arrests resulted. There are nine Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) members who are still behind the bars. Though the situation was defused to an extent following the chief minister’s visit to Darjeeling in September followed by a round of bipartite and tripartite talks between the GJM, state and centre, an uneasy atmosphere still continues to linger in the Hills./span>

“How long can the state continue to crack down on the GJM yet expect the GTA to function smoothly? It is time that the situation is resolved through sincere talks. And December 20 meeting is the best opputunity,” said GJM spokesperson Harka Bahadur Chettri. Chettri was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme held in the outskirts of Siliguri on Saturday. The GTA’s autonomous character, along with smooth functioning without the state’s interference and the withdrawal of police cases clamped on GJM activists during the Gorkhaland agitation launched by the GJM, will also be discussed in the meeting./span>

“As two political leaders will be sitting in an one-to-one meeting, issues like the Lok Sabha elections will definitely crop up. As the TMC supremo, Banerjee can ask the GJM for its support for the TMC candidate from the Darjeeling constituency. The GJM were earlier allies of the TMC and the recent gap can be patched,” said Chettri, hinting at a GJM-TMC coalition if the CM lives up to GJM‘s expectations.

Reacting to talks of renowned footballer Baichung Bhutia being the TMC’s choice as the candidate for the Lok Sabha elections from Darjeeling, Chettri said, “A part of the GJM feels that a local candidate should be fielded from Darjeeling. The candidate should be well versed with the problems and political demands of Darjeeling.”

The meeting could also act as a facilitator for Gurung returning back to the GTA as the chief executive. Gurung has been constantly hinting at this stating that the public wants him back as the GTA chief. He could well use the meeting as a platform for this return.

The GJM at present is staging a dharna in Delhi with the demand of Gorkhaland. The three-daylong demonstration, flagged off on December 13, is being attended by GJM supporters from the Darjeeling Hills and from other states. However Gurung has stayed away from the Delhi dharna.

The GJM leaders camping in Delhi have already met BJP President Rajnath Singh. They will be having another round of meeting on December 16. Incidentally, in the last Lok Sabha elections, the GJM had supported BJP candidate Jaswant Singh in the Darjeeling constituency.

In another development, former Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) leader and Darjeeing Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) councillor TN Ghising, who had crossed over to the GJM as advisor, had defected to Trinamool Congress./span>

“TN Ghising, along with 300 families, owing allegiance to the GJM from Bara Mangmaya under the Rungli Rungliot Block in Darjeeling has joined the TMC,” said TMC leader NB Khawas.