Hill poll picture unclear - CPRM and ABGL undecided on candidates

 VIVEK CHHETRI(The telegraph)

A GNLF rally in Darjeeling on Saturday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, March 27: A clear picture of the electoral battle in the hills has not emerged yet with the CPRM and the ABGL still unable to thrash out their candidates for the three Assembly seats in the region.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has already dropped the idea of consensus candidates for Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong and has decided to go it alone.

The CPRM is now working with the ABGL to jointly field candidates in the three seats. However, even before the talks between the two parties were concluded, the CPRM had made public its choice of candidates. This has raised questions on the ability of the CPRM and the ABGL to decide on the consensus candidates.

“We would like to field Bharati Tamang, widow of late Madan Tamang, in Darjeeling. We are pitching for the candidature of Chhatray Subba and Saran Dewan in Kalimpong and Kurseong respectively,” said R.B. Rai, the president of the CPRM.

Rai said Bharati, the working president of the ABGL, should be made the candidate to honour the sacrifice made by Madan Tamang for the restoration of peace and democracy in the hills. Madan was hacked to death allegedly by Morcha supporters in Darjeeling on May 21, 2010.

However, the names of Chhatray Subba and Saran Dewan, both of whom are currently lodged in the Jalpaiguri correctional home for allegedly plotting the assassination bid on GNLF president Subash Ghisingh, on February 10, 2001, has surprised many. The duo have been in jail since 2001 and the trial has not yet been completed.

“They are the true soldiers of Gorkhaland issue and this is why they have been lodged in jail for the past 10 years,” said Rai. The CPRM, however, said if no “consensus” could be evolved at its meeting with the ABGL tomorrow, the party would announce its own candidates.

“If there is a problem in accepting our proposal, we will field L.M. Lama in Darjeeling, B.M. Rai in Kurseong and J.B. Rai in Kalimpong,” said Rai.

The CPRM, the second largest party in the hills after the Morcha, had attended a meeting of political parties to discuss the possibility of fielding consensus candidates in the three constituencies. The Morcha which had called the meeting later changed the plan and named the candidates for the three seats.

Observers believe the CPRM-ABGL combine, considered to be the main Opposition forum in the hills, is now under pressure following the GNLF’s show of strength.

“If the ABGL-CPRM combine does not fare well in the elections, they will have much to lose. Perhaps, this is the reason why the parties want to be doubly sure of their candidates before finalising the names,” said an observer.

The GNLF brought out a rally of around 800 supporters in Mirik today. Arjun Rai, the party’s co-ordinator in Mirik, said: “Even without the presence of our leader Subash Ghisingh in the hills, many people turned up for the rally today. Once our leader climbs up, we will paint the hills in green (colour of the party’s flag).”

Supporters of the GNLF had marched through the streets of Kurseong and Darjeeling yesterday. For the first time in three years, around 3,000 GNLF supporters brought out a rally in Kurseong when its candidate Pemu Chhetri went to file her nomination. Even in Darjeeling, around 100 GNLF supporters brought out a rally after Bhim Subba filed his nomination.

“With the GNLF showing that it still has supporters in the hills, the CPRM and the ABGL need to prove that they are also a political force to reckon with,” said the observer.