GTA Sabha elections: Old and new faces spring surprises

Binay won, so did Bimal-backed independent

Supporters of Anit Thapa celebrate in Kurseong after victory in the GTA polls.: Picture by Passang Yolmo

Vivek Chhetri   |   TT  |  Darjeeling   |    30.06.22  : The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Sabha elections threw up many surprises right from the defeat of heavyweights to a toehold in hill politics to once powerful politicians like Bimal Gurung and Binay Tamang.

A Hamro Party candidate also managed to win a constituency by a mere two votes.

Amar Lama, general secretary of Bharatiya Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (BGPM), who had only in March won the Darjeeling civic election from ward 24 despite the Hamro Party wave, was the biggest heavyweight to lose.

Lama, second-in-command of the party, was projected as the chairman of the Darjeeling municipality by BGPM. To contest the GTA elections, he even resigned from ward 24.

Lama, however, lost to Hamro Party candidate Robert Chhetri from Darjeeling Sadar constituency.

“In democracy we accept the people’s mandate. Within the Darjeeling municipality area the rivals (Hamro Party) performed well,” said Lama.

In another significant development, Bimal Gurung and Binay Tamang, once powerful politicians, managed to retain a toehold in hill politics.

Alok Kant Mani Thulung, president of Darjeeling sub-division committee of the BGPM and a well-known face was defeated by Gurung-backed Independent Suraj Rai.

Even though Gurung was not contesting the GTA elections and did not even vote on Sunday elections, sources said that Gurung had openly campaigned for Rai.

Binay Tamang’s victory from Dali constituency has also given a new lease of life to his political career. 

Since 2017, Tamang’s party, too, had lost four elections and his political career was at stake.

Hamro Party’s Sunny Tamang of Glenburn-Takdah polled 2,879 votes while BGPM’s Pulok Moktan polled 2,877. 

This was the closest fight in this year’s GTA election. Sanjay Thulung, an Indepdendent polled 2,422 votes and the three-way contest was fierce,” said a source.

Courtesy & source