Cracks appear in Harka-TMC alliance

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, Sept. 16: Fissures have appeared in the alliance between the Trinamul Congress and the Jana Andolan Party with the former accusing the JAP president Harka Bahadur Chhetri of trying to take the sole credit for the decision to form Kalimpong district and refusing to work as an ally.

Hill Trinamul leaders had reportedly spoken against the JAP at various public interactions in the past few days. The tussle between the two parties has become public ahead of Mamata Banerjee's visit to Kalimpong on September 20.

A senior Trinamul leader who didn't want to be identified admitted that the party had differences with the JAP. "Well, there was lack of co-ordination during the last Assembly elections. Also, the Kalimpong district status would not have been possible without the state's help but Harka Sir wants to run the race alone. Such things won't work. All we want is team work."

In the last Assembly elections, Trinamul, the JAP and the GNLF had together taken on the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

Harka today admitted the simmering tension. "This was there but now it has come to the open. I had felt this during the election phase. If we are to analyse the (Assembly) election results, you can see that I did not get a good number of votes where Trinamul was supposed to be strong (in Kalimpong)," said Harka.

The JAP leader said local Trinamul leaders were not comfortable with his relation with Mamata. "They have felt insecure about their future because of my good equations with their chief. Local unit leaders and some middle-rung leaders are not comfortable with it. I have no doubt about it. They might be wrongly briefing their highest leader (Mamata) too," said Harka.

Harka denied Trinamul's allegation that he was trying to take the sole credit for the state's decision to create Kalimpong district.

"This is untrue. I have always given due credit to the chief minister. However, the local Trinamul leadership was nowhere when I started raising the district demand. I was a loner then (when he quit the Morcha) but I consistently raised the issue with logical arguments."