Consensus candidate for regional parties in Darjeeling still elusive

Hamro Party joins INDIA, Congress nominates Munish Tamang 

EOI, DARJEELING, MARCH 28, 2024 : With the notification of the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls and the beginning of the filing of nominations for the phase, regional political parties in the  hills are still grappling with the problem of firming up alliances for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat.

The initiative was taken by Hamro Party President Ajoy Edwards along with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha President Bimal Gurung and BJP MLA of Kurseong B. P. Bajgain to form anew front and field a consensus candidate has not apparently yielded any result yet. 

On Thursday, Hamro Party, led by Ajoy Edwards, formally joined the INDIA alliance in Delhi. “Our alliance is not with any individual political party, but with the INDIA alliance, ”Edwards said. “We will be part of the alliance and will sincerely work for the gorkha community. We have joined the bloc to represent the voice of the Gorkha community.

”Edwards blamed the BJP and the Trinamool Congress for the regional parties from the hills failing to come to a common platform. “The easier route for us was to support the BJP and the Trinamool. However, neither the BJP nor the Trinamool has sympathy or sincerity towards the Gorkha community. The BJPdid nothing for us in the last 15years even though we voted for them. 

The Trinamool cannot be trusted. That is the reason we have to look for alternatives,” he said. Meanwhile, sharing the same INDIA platform as Ajoy Edwards in Delhi, National President of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh Munish Tamang was nominated by Congress as the party candidate for the Darjeeling constituency. 

Earlier, Munish Tamang formally joined the Congress. In Darjeeling, the youth wing of the GJM held a meeting with different political parties; with only a handful of organizations and independents intent on contesting in the Darjeeling LokSabha seat joining the meeting. 

Rebel BJP MLA of Kurseong B.P. Bajgain was one of them. “We had invited several  political parties and social organizations. Some of them could not attend because of their prior engagements. 

A few persons wishing to contest as an independent candidate did participate, ”General Secretary of GJM youth front Norman Rai said. 

The BJP, the Trinamool Congress, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha and theGorkha National Liberation Front were not invited to attend. Gorkhaland continues to be the buzzword, however, among the hill parties failing to form a  front. 

Bajgain said on Thursday he would file his nomination papers on March 31 and that he wanted votes to be consolidated for the Gorkhaland movement. Norman Rai said the objecting behind the meeting called during the day was to bring to a common platform like-minded parties, organizations and individuals and field a consensus candidate.

“We are hearing names of individuals as well as those from national parties wishing to contest as an independent. We placed a proposal that instead of using different banners, we field a consensus candidate to achieve our dream and aspiration of a separate state,” Bajgain said. Ajoy Edwards said the LokSabha election was not for development but for the identity and self-respect of the Gorkha community.

“For development, there are panchayats, municipalities and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. Our self-respect is in danger. Our issue of Gorkhaland must not be erased. We must have someone to voice our demand. Our path is tough, but we have faith on the Gorkha community in the hills.” (With are port from Yawan Gurung in Mirik)