Morcha poll pressure on chief

Bimal Gurung

VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, Darjeeling, July 1: Bimal Gurung is believed to be under pressure from senior leaders of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to contest the GTA elections and head the autonomous set-up, despite his earlier announcement that he did not want to hold any administrative post.

Sources in the Morcha confirmed that several senior leaders had told Gurung at the meetings convened by the party yesterday and today that his absence would turn the GTA Sabha into a “non-starter”.

“Many senior leaders were of the opinion that Gurung should not only contest the elections but also head the GTA. One leader said that without Gurung’s presence, the GTA would be a non-starter,” said a source.

The Morcha insider added that the majority of the central committee members present at the meetings had unanimously proposed Gurung’s name to head the autonomous body. “One of the leaders concluded his speech by saying Gurung had to lead the GTA the way he had led the party since it was formed on October 7, 2007.”

After the central committee of the Morcha met here yesterday, the decision to contest the elections to the GTA Sabha, scheduled for July 29, was announced. The Morcha said it would contest for the “sake of infrastructure development” in the hills.

Leaders of the party’s various units and decision-making bodies met today to discuss the strategy for the polls.

Gurung has all along said that he is not interested in taking charge of the GTA. On June 24, while addressing his supporters at the Darjeeling Gymkhana Club, Gurung said he was not interested in running the GTA.

“If they (the central committee members) want to run the GTA, I have no problem. It is better the body is run by them rather than leaders of Trinamul, ABGL or the CPRM,” Gurung had said.

The Morcha chief, the source said, did not make any commitment to the central committee members on the request to contest the polls.

“Gurung, however, said he would personally choose the candidates and none should lobby for any particular candidate,” said the source.

He has decided to talk to workers before finalising the candidates for the 45 seats. “Starting tomorrow, the party will hold a series of meetings. Gurung will go to Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik and finalise the candidates. The list of candidates is most likely to be announced on July 5,” said the source.

Nominations can be filed from tomorrow till July 9.

While the Morcha has decided to field candidates, its still not clear if other parties will take part in the elections.

The district committee members of the CPM met workers in the hills here today to form the party’s opinion on the elections. Former minister Asok Bhattacharya said a final decision regarding the GTA elections would be taken on July 4.

“We wanted to seek the opinion of our cadres. A section of the workers wanted us to contest the elections for our political survival in the hills. Others told us to discuss the issue of fielding common with other anti-Morcha parties. The district committee wants to contest the elections as this would help restore democracy and peace in the hills,” said Bhattacharya.

“We have to look into the various aspects before deciding the next step. A final decision will be taken on July 4.”

He, however, said many cadres were worried about their safety and security if they took part in the elections.

“We have already written to the district administration in this regard and we will meet the authorities to discuss the issue. We will also try to meet other anti-Morcha parties before July 4,” said Bhattacharya.

The CPRM and the ABGL, the other prominent parties in the hills, too, have decided to convene a meeting on July 4 to take the final decision on contesting the elections.