"Mamata Banerjee wants to create a Switzerland here so why wouldn't we support her."-GJM to contest elections for Gorkhaland

Darjeeling (IBN LIVE): One of the big issues at stake in the hills of Darjeeling is a separate Gorkhaland. This is the first time that the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is contesting in an election and is supporting the TMC. It remains to be seen whether Mamata Banerjee's promise of turning the hills into Switzerland will work.
When one enters Gorkhaland, every home tells that one has entered a state within a state, branded on the minds of its people.
In an election of many firsts, the demand for Gorkhaland too will make history, shifting from the streets to the ballot. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is contesting for the first time from all three seats in the hills and is giving support to an unlikely ally, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who had earlier refused to bifurcate the state.

GJM Chief Bimal Gurung said, "Mamata Banerjee wants to create a Switzerland here so why wouldn't we support her."

But it will not be a cakewalk for GJM. Gurung's mentor GNLF chief Subhash Ghising has now made a comeback in the hills after three years of political hibernation.

GNLF leader Bhim Subbah said, "How many supporters they have and how many supporters we do is a matter that will be clear by May 13."

Away from this high decibel political drama is this 65-year-old widow of Madan Tamang, the ABGL leader who was brutally murdered last year. With a motley group of supporters she is fighting elections for the first time to get justice.

Only three out of 294 seats are in the fray in the hills, which is a small number but high on symbolism. A win by GJM will make this election almost a referendum of their demands for a separate state of Gorkhaland, but a loss will perhaps show that people in the hills want a middle path.