Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to give tickets to five non-Gorkhas in the elections

Kalimpong, Nov. 10: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has given tickets to five non-Gorkhas in the elections to four municipalities “to acknowledge the contribution” made by the other communities to the party’s movement.

Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said representatives of these communities would be fielded in three wards of the 32-member Darjeeling civic body and one ward each in Kalimpong and Kurseong.

The Kalimpong municipality has 23 wards, while the Kurseong civic board has a strength of 20 members.

“This is to acknowledge the contribution made by the non-Gorkha communities to our struggle. It is not the Gorkhas alone who have participated in our movement. Other communities in the hills, too, have lent their wholehearted support,” said Giri.

The Morcha has decided to field Zahid Khan in ward 18, Subhomoy Chatterjee in ward 25 and Binod Rakhecha in ward 24 in Darjeeling, and Soni Raut in ward 1 in Kurseong. Although the party is yet to announce the list of candidates for Kalimpong, Subash Gupta is tipped to contest from ward 3. His name was proposed by the Janmukti Minorities’ Front, which had been asked by the parent organisation to pick a candidate from among non-Gorkhas for a ward in Kalimpong.

All the five candidates are members of the Minorities’ Front, a frontal organisation of the Morcha. However, no ticket has been given to non-Gorkhas in the elections to the nine-member Mirik civic body.

Gupta said he was obliged both to the Morcha and the Minorities’ Front. “I am happy that they have given me such a platform. I will work honestly and with dedication both for the front and the party.”

Gupta is a businessman, but people here know him as a footballer, having played for various clubs in the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim from the late seventies to the mid-nineties.

Observers said the decision of the Morcha to award tickets to the non-Gorkhas in the hills would go down well with the people. “By giving tickets to the minority communities, the Morcha is sending out a message that it is an inclusive party. The decision shows that the party wants to take everyone on board the development cart,” said an observer.

The Morcha’s decision to give the chairmanship of the Darjeeling and Kalimpong municipalities to its study forum members Amar Rai and L. B. Parihar respectively in the event of the party’s victory, too, has drawn praise.

“Both Parihar and Rai are of great stature and by projecting them as the heads of the civic body, the Morcha is telling people that it is serious about providing effective governance. Both are men of integrity and experience,” said another observer.

While Parihar is the former principal secretary of the DGHC, Rai was the vice-principal of Loreto College in Darjeeling.