Morcha Ranchi trip, eye on John Barla

March 19: A Gorkha Janmukti Morcha team, probably led by chief Bimal Gurung and accompanied by tribal leader John Barla, would meet Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leaders in Ranchi on March 24 for decisive talks on their panchayat poll alliance.

“Some of our central leaders will visit Ranchi on March 24 to hold talks with JMM leaders on the alliance for the ensuing rural polls. Most likely, our president Bimal Gurung will lead the delegation,” said Binay Tamang, the Morcha assistant secretary.

“We are having a series of meetings with John Barla and are completely sure that there will be an alliance only between our party and the JMM. As of now, we are not going to comment on any other angle or other political equation.”

Tamang’s assertion of an alliance “only between our party and the JMM” has raised doubts about the prospects of the Barla-headed Dooars JMM unit’s tie-up talks with Trinamul.

According to Morcha insiders, the party leadership’s decision to go to Ranchi is because of Barla’s recent hobnobbing with Trinamul.

Barla, who held a meeting with Trinamul senior leader Mukul Roy last week, had said the JMM would field candidates in alliance with the Morcha in tea gardens but his party would support Trinamul in non-tea garden seats. There has been no formal alliance yet.

Trinamul has said it has no problem with this arrangement, but the Morcha has reservations. “The Morcha has its own reservations, considering the present state of relations between the two parties (Trinamul and the Morcha). This is why the Morcha wants the central leaders of the JMM to speak clearly on the issue,” a Morcha source said.

In Ranchi, a JMM leader clarified that whatever Barla had said about the prospect of a tie-up with Trinamul was in his “personal capacity”.

“Barla has said this in his individual capacity. We have heard Trinamul Congress leader Mukul Roy has made a similar statement. Any decision will be taken only by our party chief (Shibu Soren). It will be discussed during the meeting. Both JMM and the GJM share a similar ideological plank. The JMM has extended political support to the GJM demand for a separate state,” JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said.

JMM insiders said owing to the anti-Gorkhaland stand of Trinamul, it would be difficult for the JMM to join hands with Bengal’s ruling party.

Trinamul needs Barla in the Dooars because it hardly has a base there. Barla is the best bet to get tribal votes for Trinamul, which wants to make inroads into the Dooars and Terai before the Morcha becomes stronger there.

But the Morcha, too, needs Barla. The Dooars and Terai are part of the Morcha’s larger Gorkhaland map. Also, there is an increasing feeling in the tea belt in the Dooars that the Morcha, after the formation of the GTA, has forgotten its foot soldiers there.

In the last two months, several hundred Morcha workers and leaders have quit the hill party and joined the Congress or Trinamul. This may have unsettled Gurung, who yesterday said he would stay in the Dooars and campaign door-to-door for the panchayat polls.

That Barla does not want to quit Trinamul’s side just yet became clear when he was asked about his Ranchi trip today.

“In the tea gardens, if tribals and Gorkhas contest with joined hands, it would serve our purpose. However, the development work and initiatives taken up by Mamata Banerjee cannot be undermined. Both the state government and Trinamul are focusing on the Dooars and in case we go ahead and forge an alliance with Trinamul, it would benefit all of us in terms of seats,” Barla said.

“If Barla ties up with Trinamul, it would benefit Mamata Banerjee and be a loss for Bimal Gurung. Moreover, if Morcha fails to win a substantial number of seats, it cannot use the panchayat mechanism to meet some of the basic demands of Morcha supporters in the foothills. There is discontent among the people there that can be pacified through development work,” a source said.

Trinamul refrained from making comments on the matter. “We would not comment on it,” a Trinamul leader in Jalpaiguri said.

The Telegraph