Political observers are of the view that as far as the issue of Gorkhaland is concerned, the GTA elections and the success of the parties in favor of the ruling party of the state can only be deadlocked.
Political observers are of the view that as far as the issue of Gorkhaland is concerned, the GTA elections and the success of the parties in favor of the ruling party of the state can only be deadlocked.
One of the biggest surprises recently concluded Gorkhaland Territorial Administration The (GTA) election was an impressive performance of the Trinamool Congress.
In West Bengal, the ruling party contested 10 of the 45 seats and won five. The Trinamool has been ruling the state for the past 11 years and has established its political dominance in almost all areas, but the hills have always voted against it. In fact, over the past three decades, the party in power in West Bengal has not been able to make significant electoral gains in the Darjeeling hills.
Anit Thapa’s Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), which won 27 seats in the 45-member board, is also considered close to the Trinamool.
While Mr Thapa has said he will work closely with the West Bengal government, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called Mr Thapa his own on the day the GTA results were announced.
According to the Chief Minister, Hamro Party won the remaining 37 except eight seats. member (Members) are in support of Trinamool. peaceful GTA. election for Gorka has come out as a shot for the Trinamool and the West Bengal government amid protests from parties such as the Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
About 59% of the people exercised their franchise in the elections held on 26 June. Those who stayed away from the GTA elections questioned the relevance of the regional autonomous body.
GTA was established in 2012 after years of violent agitation demanding a separate Gorkhaland state. The Government of West Bengal, the Government of India and the GJM were signatories to the GTA Agreement, which aimed to provide autonomy to the people of the hills. In the first GTA elections in 2012, the GJM won all seats without a contest. Between 2009 and 2017, the GJM and its president Bimal Gurung dominated the politics of the hills.
In 2017, the politics of the hills took a turning point. 100 days of violent agitation and the lockdown in the hills left the GJM divided. When Mr. Bimal Gurung, facing a barrage of allegations, had to leave the hills, his close aides Anit Thapa and Binay Tamang (who contested and won the GTA election on a Trinamool Congress ticket) started talks with the Trinamool.
In 2017, all member The GTA president, including Mr. Bimal Gurung, resigned. The regional autonomous body had since been in limbo, administered mostly by bureaucrats.
While the 2022 GTA elections may signal a new beginning for hill politics, it is too early to say whether the issue of Gorkhaland has been left behind. Political observers are of the view that as far as the issue of Gorkhaland is concerned, the GTA elections and the success of the parties in favor of the ruling party of the state can only be deadlocked. Like the weather in the Darjeeling hills, politics centered on identity and the demand for a separate state can change at any moment.