Mamata set to visit Darjeeling, by-elections likely on agenda

 Official sources said the CM will inaugurate the SARAS Mela on 11 November 

SNS, Siliguri, November 8, 2024: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be visiting the Darjeeling Hills after many days. According to police sources, she will arrive at Bagdogra on 11 November and proceed to Darjeeling, returning to Kolkata on 14 November. According to government officials in the Panchayat and Rural Development Department, the Chief Minister is scheduled to inaugurate a fair in Darjeeling. Meanwhile, officials from Uttarkanya, the North Bengal branch secretariat, have begun preparing her office and bungalow in case she decides to stay during her visit. However, the Chief Minister's office at Uttarkanya has not yet received the full itinerary of her visit to North Bengal.

Official sources said the Chief Minister will inaugurate the SARAS (Sale of Articles of Rural Artisans Society) Mela on 13 November. The decision to hold such a fair in Darjeeling aims to showcase the role of the state government since the Darjeeling and Kalimpong Hills now have a two-tier Panchayat system after many years. Notably, residents in the Hills were deprived of local self-government facilities, as no elections were held for gram panchayat and panchayat samiti positions since the tenure of the Left Front, when Subash Ghising was the head of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC).

Even after the formation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the state government could not conduct rural polls under GTA jurisdiction. However, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee eventually decided to conduct rural polls following demands from various political factions. This followed the completion of GTA elections and the formation of a new board under Anit Thapa, who now leads the GTA.

It is worth noting that the hill-based political party, Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), led by Anit Thapa, holds political control over the majority of the two-tier Panchayat bodies in the Hills.

On another note, in light of the Chief Minister's visit, tea workers have planned to continue their agitation, demanding a 20 per cent bonus. The tripartite meeting scheduled in Kolkata on 6 November ended inconclusively due to the absence of tea garden owners. Another meeting has been called by the Labour Department on 16 November.

Significantly, opposition political parties have begun speculating on the political implications of her visit, especially since two by-elections are scheduled in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar on 13 November, when the Chief Minister will be in Darjeeling for her official engagements.