Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to oppose Baichung's candidature for Darjeeling seat

Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay,TNN | Jan 16, 2014, KOLKATA: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha will oppose the candidature of footballer Baichung Bhutia from Darjeeling for the forthcoming general election. The Trinamool supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her willingness to field Baichung's as Trinamool candidate from Darjeeling.

However, GJM leader and Kalimpong MLA Harkabahadur Chhetri said, "We oppose Baichung Bhutia's candidature. Neither he is from Darjeeling, nor is he the face of hill people. We will support the candidate, who is son of the soil".

Significantly, Darjeeling is one of the few Lok Sabha constituencies among the 42 in West Bengal in which the dominant Trinamool Congress does not have a fighting chance of winning. So, if GJM opposes Baichung's candidature, his chance of winning the poll will be bleak.

Nepali-speaking Bhutia is seen as the frontrunner among potential Trinamool Congress candidates for the Darjeeling constituency, where the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) calls the shots. Asked about the possibility of his joining politics or contesting in next year's general election, the footballer from Sikkim refused to comment. If he wins, he is going to be only the second footballer with an India cap to become a member of the Lok Sabha.

Earlier this year, Prasun Banerjee, a former midfielder, won a by-poll in West Bengal contesting on a Trinamool Congress ticket to become a member of Parliament (MP).

People from Sikkim such as the late Sonam Wangfel Laden La have been community leaders in Darjeeling, said a Trinamool Congress leader who did not want to be named. But that was way back in the first three decades of the 20th century.

The Gorkhas elected the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) Jaswant Singh in 2009 and the Congress's Dawa Narbula in 2004, but this time, the GJM wants one of its own leaders to represent the constituency in Parliament.

It is not going to be easy for the Trinamool Congress to find a native Gorkha to take on the GJM, said the leader cited above, adding, "Nepali-speaking Baichung is our best bet at this time."

GJM, Chhetri said, would field one of its own leaders as the candidate so that that person could take the Gorkha community's movement to Delhi. Darjeeling has had too many "visiting MPs", Chhetri said, when asked if an alliance with the Trinamool Congress was a possibility. "We won't accept anybody imposed on us," he added.

In the 2009 general election, BJP's Singh received 51.5% of the polled votes thanks to the GJM backing. The Congress candidate, who had won from Darjeeling in the previous election, received 19.4% of the polled votes and finished third behind Jibesh Sarkar, the Left Front candidate.