Bimal rally versus Binay rally on Sunday

The twin marches will be held at venues 80km from each other have suddenly raised the political temperature in north Bengal and sent the administration into a tizzy

Jamuni in Tukvar of Darjeeling, where the Binay Tamang faction of the Morcha will hold a public meeting on Sunday : File picture

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Bireswar Banerjee, Vivek Chhetri   |   TT   |   Siliguri, Darjeeling   |    04.12.20  : Leaders of the two factions of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, both allies of the ruling Trinamul, will hold two separate show-of-strength rallies on Sunday.

The twin rallies to be held at venues 80km from each other have suddenly raised the political temperature in north Bengal and sent the administration into a tizzy. 

While Bimal Gurung will address his first public meeting after a gap of three-and-a-half-years at the Indira Gandhi Maidan in Siliguri, the rival Binay Tamang camp of the Morcha will observe the foundation day of the party’s youth wing at Jamuni in Takvar of Darjeeling, an area considered to be Gurung’s bastion.

“Hundreds of vehicles carrying supporters of both camps will be criss-crossing the hills and the plains... There is a major law-and-order concern for us,” said a senior police officer.

The Indira Gandhi Maidan on Siliguri outskirts where the Gurung faction will hold its public meeting on Sunday

Multiple sources said that the apprehension of a face-off comes from the intense competition between the two camps to prove their supremacy in the hill politics.

“Both are allied to Trinamul and so it is likely that each faction will try to prove that it is more powerful than the other in north Bengal politics,” said a source.

Earlier, the Gurung faction was supposed to hold the public meeting at Baghajatin Park, a ground in the heart of Siliguri. However, leaders of the faction later decided to shift the venue to Indira Maidan and said there would be huge turnout of party supporters from the hills, Terai and the Dooars and thus needed a larger ground. 

On Thursday, Bishal Chhetri, a vice-president of the central committee of the Morcha (Gurung camp), visited the ground.

“Our president Bimalji (Gurung) will reach Siliguri on Sunday and will address a public meeting at Indira Gandhi Maidan here. We expect over one lakh supporters at the venue to listen to him,” said Chhetri.

Back in May 2008, Gurung had addressed a similar public rally at the same venue.

The Morcha leader, Chhetri hinted, will continue to stay in north Bengal to monitor the party's activities in the coming days.

Leaders of the Tamang faction, when asked whether their rally was in response to Gurung’s first public appearance after a long gap, said theirs was an independent event that had nothing to do with the Gurung show.   

“Our event has nothing to do with Bimal Gurung’s event in Siliguri. We will observe the foundation day of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Yuwa Morcha on Sunday,” said a leader from the Tamang camp.

Ahead of the meetings, the administration is trying to make elaborate arrangements to ensure that there are no major law-and-order problems.

“There is tremendous animosity between the two camps... There are genuine reasons to be worried. We are taking all precautions,” said a police source.

According to him, the police are contacting the leaders of both the camps to diffuse tension ahead of the rallies. “Separate routes for participants of the two rallies are also being worked out,” said the source.

(https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/bimal-gurung-rally-versus-binay-tamang-rally-on-sunday/cid/1799452)