The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on Thursday won all 45 seats in the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) election, marking the beginning of a new chapter of peace and normalcy in the troubled hills.
The party made a clean sweep as it won 28 seats uncontested. In the remaining 17 GTA seats the voting took place on July 29 and counting was undertaken on Thursday. Both the major political formations, Trinamool Congress and CPM, withdrew their nominations from the GTA contest.
"We dedicate this win to the people of Darjeeling who supported us in the election. They have chosen us to run the administration in the newly-formed GTA body. The first thing we will have to focus is the education and health sector in the region," said GJM president Bimal Gurung after wining the election.
Gurung said that all 45 representatives of the GTA would focus on tourism potential of the region, improving road connectivity and to create employment in the days to come.
The entire hills wore a festive look with people coming out on the streets, playing drums and smearing gulaal (colour dust) on each other. They also took out rallies celebrating the victory in the election.
The swearing-in occasion of the newly elected members will take place on August 4 in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Newly-appointed Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is also likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony as the CM had already sent an invitation to Shinde on Wednesday.
According to GJM sources, the GTA representatives would first address the issue of setting up new schools and appoint teachers in the hills. It would also develop medical infrastructure in the hills.
"The discussion is already on regarding these issues with the state government. We held a meeting recently with the CM and she also assured us saying the state government would extend all kinds of support to us," said Roshan Giri, general secretary of GJM, adding that GTA needs help and full cooperation from the state government.
Giri said GTA would hold its first meeting on August 3 in Darjeeling and the swearing-in would take place on the next day.
The Central government in 2005 announced sixth schedule status to the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF)-led Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) that ensured greater autonomy to the governing body. But the GJM, led by its party president Bimal Gurung, had opposed the Sixth Schedule status for Darjeeling sometimes around 2008.
Gurung, who was expelled from the GNLF for his anti-party activity, had been spearheading the movement in the hills in demand of a separate state. Later, after Trinamool Congress storming in to power, Mamata Banerjee-led administration signed a tripartite GTA accord with the GJM and the Centre. And according the GTA elections were held in the hills after four years of political turbulence.
West Bengal north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb welcomed the GJM's win in the GTA election. However, senior CPM leader from Siliguri Ashok Bhattacharya said the election was nothing but a travesty of democracy, there was no political opponent to contest the GJM.
Earlier, the CPM had withdrawn candidates from the GTA election saying the political ambience was not conducive to contest any electoral battle in the hills.
The three Darjeeling hill subdivisions - Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong - have a total population of 810,000, of which the majority are Gorkhas who participated in the GTA election.
The Queen of the Hills was the summer capital of British India till the capital was shifted to Delhi from Kolkata in 1912.
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