Panchayat Polls in Darjeeling, Kalimpong After 23 Years: Where Does TMC Stand?

The TMC has had a troubled relationship with the hills over their demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

Come 8 July, panchayat polls will be held in the hilly districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal after a gap of more than two decades. As Upendra M Pradhan, a local journalist and political analyst, explained to The Quint, "What we are lacking right now in the hills is grassroots democracy."

"Hundreds of villages (in the hills) are deprived of the basics – drinking water, proper roads, robust healthcare, schools... because most of the government schemes are not implemented in the hills, as most panchayats have remained non-functional."

Upendra M Pradhan

These polls, therefore, are crucial – not just for the people in the region but also for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has had a troubled relationship with the hills owing to their contentious demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

So, why exactly were there no polls for 23 years? What are the parties in the running promising? Will Gorkhaland be a poll issue for the TMC? And importantly, will the election results be an indication of things to come in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections? The Quint answers these questions for you.

Why Were There No Elections for Two Decades?

To understand why Darjeeling and Kalimpong have not had elections in more than 20 years, it is imperative to understand the administrative setup of the region.

Darjeeling and Kalimpong have a two-tier panchayat system instead of a three-tier one. This is because of the 73rd constitutional amendment in 1993, wherein provisions were made for a two-tier panchayat system of a gram panchayat and a panchayat samiti in Darjeeling hills under the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), which was an autonomous body.

The DGHC came into existence in 1988 after a violent two-year struggle, led by firebrand leader Subash Ghising of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), for a separate state of Gorkhaland. In 2012, the DGHC was replaced by the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). The GTA is responsible for the administration of the hills.

Opposition by hill parties to the two-tier system is cited as a reason for the delay in the rural polls.

BJP-Led United Gorkha Alliance To Counter TMC-Anit Thapa Tie-Up

On Sunday, 11 June, a grand alliance of hill-based parties was stitched together by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to take on the TMC and its 'ally', the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), led by Anit Thapa, in the panchayat elections in Darjeeling and Kalimpong.

Apart from the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) and the Hamro Party, the United Gorkha Alliance (UGA) has the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CPRM), Gorkhaland Rajya Nirman Morcha, and SUMETI Mukti Morcha as members.

To put an end to the rampant corruption of GTA, to put an end to the dictatorship imposed by TMC, to ensure a bright future for our people & region, all the parties that care for Darjeeling, that want to promote Gorkha unity have come together as United Gorkha Alliance (UGA). 1/3 pic.twitter.com/uiFbQx1x1v

— Raju Bista (@RajuBistaBJP) June 11, 2023

We have decided to defeat Kolkata politics, and stand united for our people.

The United Gorkha Alliance (UGA) will practice 'Corruption Sunya Policy'. 2/3 pic.twitter.com/IMwSlvuE3G

— Raju Bista (@RajuBistaBJP) June 11, 2023

Raju Bista, Darjeeling MP and national spokesperson of the BJP, told The Quint, "The democratic space that is rapidly shrinking in the hills is due to the TMC.

"The last panchayat elections was held in 2000, and the body's tenure ended in 2005. For the past 18 years, we have not had any panchayat system in the hills. Therefore, it was vitally important that every party that loves Darjeeling kept their differences aside and come together to defeat TMC's politics of 'divide and rule'," he said.

He, however, did not clarify whether the alliance would continue into the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well.

'Development First and Then Permanent Political Solution'

Asserting that the issue of development will take precedence over the Gorkhaland demand, Bista alleged, "Our hills have 112 panchayats, and even at Rs 2 crore development fund per panchayat per year, the Bengal government siphoned off Rs 224 crore of panchayat funds every year for the past 18-years. By not conducting panchayat election, the state deprived our hills of over Rs 4,100 crore in the past 18 years."

"For the BJP and our allies, our main thrust will be to usher in transparency in governance, and promote democracy at the grassroots level."

Raju Bista, Darjeeling MP

In August 2022, a communique from the Centre to the state revealed that the Darjeeling hills was deprived of development funds to the tune of over Rs 400 crore owing to delay in holding gram panchayat elections.

The BJP is under pressure in the hills for its failure to deliver on the Lok Sabha poll promise of finding a "permanent political solution."

Bista asserted that the work towards a permanent political solution, as envisioned in the BJP national sankalp patra of 2019, is already underway.

"One round of tripartite talks have already been held in this regard. Soon, the Union Home Ministry will call for more rounds of talks, and I reiterate the BJP's commitment to ensuring a permanent political solution" Bista told The Quint.

TMC Dismisses Graft Allegations

Dismissing the allegations, NB Khawas, TMC spokesperson, Darjeeling district (hills), told The Quint that the TMC has done more for the hills than the BJP has.

"The BJP has won the Lok Sabha seat since 2009, which is two years before we came to power in the state. But we have done more than them. Name one development project that has been undertaken in the region during the BJP's tenure here. It's nil," he alleged.

Another local TMC leader in the hills, who wanted to remain anonymous, told The Quint that party is pretty confident of a victory. "We are pretty confident of winning big," she said.

Changing Power Dynamics in the Hills

Over the past six-seven years, the power dynamics in the hills have undergone a massive change. Much like in the late 1980s, politics in the late 2000s and early 2010s was dominated by the Gorkhaland movement.

However, this time, it was helmed by the GJM's Bimal Gurung, whose meteoric rise in 2007 is often attributed to the reality singing show Indian Idol. That year, Prashant Tamang, a constable from Darjeeling, had made it to the finals of the show, and Gurung, riding on 'Gorkha pride', managed to drum up support for him in the hills. When Tamang won, a lot of the credit, went to Gurung, who had become a mass leader by then.

In 2007, he had a public fallout with his one-time close aide Ghising. He then launched the GJM and started a violent agitation over Gorkhaland. In 2017, he led a 104-day bandh calling for the territories of the GTA to be made into a separate state.

The protest erupted after the West Bengal government's decision to make Bengali mandatory in schools across the state. 

Gurung was later charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with a grenade attack and an explosion, and went underground. He emerged three years later in 2020, only to break ties with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and vowing to support to Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly elections.

But that backfired as his party took a drubbing in the polls.

His party lost all three hill seats in the Gorkha majority region to a resurgent BJP and a breakaway faction of his own party. 

As Pradhan put it, Bimal Gurung's safe return to Darjeeling after the Gorkhaland demand was not well liked by the people.

"People saw him as a personification of their resistance against the authoritative rule by the TMC. So, when he came back as another 'Kolkata lackey', he lost the majority of people's trust and respect."

Anit Thapa, the Numero Uno in Darjeeling Hills

The power vacuum left behind by Gurung has largely been filled by Anit Thapa. Thapa formed the BGPM in September 2021. Last year, his victory in the GTA polls more or less cemented his power in the hills.

"In the hills, Anit Thapa is more or less the numero uno," added Pradhan.

Then, of course, there is the Hamro Party headed by Ajoy Edwards.

In March 2022, Edwards' party had won the Darjeeling civic polls in what was the biggest surprise result of any local body elections in West Bengal. But Thapa's party wrested control from the Hamro Party in the Darjeeling civic bodies as its councilors shifted allegiance to the more established BGPM.

"This solidified his position even more," added Pradhan. But Thapa, time and again, has told the media that there will be no demand for Gorkhaland, which is an issue in almost every election.

In fact, in March, he asserted there was no point in having a stand-off with the West Bengal government over the issue as the power to grant statehood lies with the Centre.

But is Thapa fazed because of the BJP-led alliance? "It is rather the opposite," Thapa told The Quint.

"We are confident about winning as we have really worked for the people without making false assurances."

Anit Thapa, GTA chief

Will the United Gorkha Alliance Provide a Tight Contest to the TMC?

Observers said the UGA will provide a tight contest to the BGPM and the TMC in some places.

The BGPM and Trinamool will not go for an official alliance like the UGA, but will work on an understanding, sources said.

"The BGPM and the TMC will face competition in many seats from the new alliance," a political observer told The Quint. He, however, added that the BGPM has an edge by virtue of being the party in power at the GTA.

"If Anit Thapa wins, it will solidify the TMC's position as well as Mamata Banerjee's position in the hills. The TMC has had a troubled relationship with the region as there were two large movements for statehood during their tenure (in 2013 and 2017)," said Pradhan.