Bharati camp of AIGL to field poll candidates in Hill seats

SNS, DARJEELING, 1 MARCH 21 : Following the announcement of the Assembly elections recently, the Bharati Tamang faction of the All India Gorkha League (AIGL) today announced it would field candidates in all the three Hill  Assembly seats. The faction also declared its election issues.

"We will be fielding candidates in all the three MLA seats of the Hills, whose names will be announced in a few days, when we will also make public our manifesto. The candidates will, however, be youths," AIGL general secretary SP Sharma said.

Mr Sharma, however, said they will not have any alliance with the Trinamul Congress or the BJP for the elections.

"Those in alliance with the TMC cannot take up the demand for Gorkhaland, while the BJP does not have the will to do something about it.

It is not that one has to side with the BJP or the TMC to do politics. An independent voice of the people should be there and we will be that voice. We have been saying no to BJP or TMC for the past one year," he said, adding that statehood was the people's aspiration and it could not be suppressed.

Both factions of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha are in alliance with the TMC for the upcoming elections, while political parties like the Gorkha National Liberation Front and the AlGL Pratap Khati faction are in alliance with the MP.

Mr Sharma maintained that apart from Gorkhaland some of the issues they would be taking up in the elections were implementation of the Forest Village Act in this area, amendment of the Plantation Labour Act, subsidy of first 100 units of electricity for the people here, with this area being an electricity generating area, panchayat elections, education reforms and an annual audit of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration or any such body.

Mr Sharma said they would also take up a new issue this time--benefits of the Act East Policy. According to him, the Policy was set in motion at a summit in Myanmar in November 2014 by PM Narendra Modi. The policy focuses on the extended neighbourhood in the Asia-Pacific region. Though the objective of the policy is to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop strategic relationship with countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the Northeast of India is a priority in it. Along with the different benefits, the policy is said to contribute to the security and economic development of Northeast India. This faction said that their main slogan for the elections would be 'Power to People.'