Kolkata, March 30 (IANS) At a time when the majority of the 294 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal, which are going to polls in two phases next month, are set to witness four-cornered contests, the three hill constituencies of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong are headed for a five-cornered contest.
In most Assembly constituencies, the four principal contenders are the Trinamool Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the CPI-M-led Left Front and All India Secular Front (AISF) alliance, and the Congress.
However, in Kurseong, Kalimpong, and Darjeeling, the electoral battle will be distinctly five-cornered.
In these three hill constituencies, the forces in the fray are the BJP, backed by the Bimal Gurung-founded Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM); the Anit Thapa-founded Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM); the Ajoy Edwards-founded Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF); the Left Front-AISF alliance; and the Congress.
Political observers feel that the IGJF’s entry into the electoral fray by fielding candidates independently has complicated the equations for both the GJM-backed BJP and the Trinamool Congress-backed BGPM, especially in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong, where Gorkha voters play a decisive role in determining electoral outcomes.
Officially, however, all contending forces claim that the IGJF’s entry has made their respective victories easier in these constituencies.
On one hand, the BJP and its hill ally GJM argue that since the IGJF is identified as an anti-BJP force in the hills, its candidates will cut into the anti-BJP and anti-GJM Gorkha vote share.
On the other hand, both the BGPM and the Trinamool Congress claim that the IGJF will primarily dent the BJP-GJM alliance’s core vote bank, increasing the chances of BGPM-Trinamool Congress candidates emerging victorious in these constituencies.
However, IGJF chief Ajoy Edwards disagreed with both assessments. According to him, people in the hills, especially the Gorkhas, are frustrated with what he described as years of unfulfilled promises regarding a permanent political solution, including the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state.
In such a scenario, he said, voters in these constituencies may opt for an alternative political force whose legislators can raise hill issues effectively in the Assembly.
“We have not fielded candidates to cut into anyone’s vote share. We have fielded candidates to win all three seats. Our sole agenda is a separate Gorkhaland statehood. Initially, we tried to ensure that all hill parties contested in alliance, but no one agreed. So we have decided to fight alone. Our goal is the development of the hills and a separate state,” Edwards said.
Meanwhile, GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said that the party has decided to support BJP candidates in the three hill constituencies to achieve a permanent political solution, including the demand for Gorkhaland. “Only the BJP, which has consistently supported the creation of smaller states, can help us achieve that goal,” Giri said.
For BGPM founder Anit Thapa, the party’s focus is on development in the hills, which, he said, requires the backing of the ruling Trinamool Congress.
–IANS
src/pgh