The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha warned that aspiring contestants not to contest as Independents

Kalimpong, Nov. 11,TT: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today warned that aspiring contestants who had not made it to the candidate list for the civic polls should not contest as Independents as they would not be taken back into the party fold even if they won.

The party today announced the candidates for all the 23 wards of the Kalimpong municipality. Candidates in 10 wards were selected unanimously but there were multiple claimants to tickets for the remaining 13 seats.

Senior Morcha leaders, including president Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri, were present during the entire selection process that ended after seven hours with the announcement of the names.

In fact, the Town Hall, was a beehive of activity as ticket seekers and supporters thronged the venue of the selection committee meeting.

While the selection went on inside the hall under the watchful eyes of senior party leaders, the supporters of ticket aspirants waited outside.

“I have come here to lend my support to Prashant Singh. I am glad that he has got the ticket. I am certain he will not disappoint the residents of our ward or the party,” said N.K. Sherpa, a resident of Ward 21.

Yesterday, the Morcha had brought out the list of candidates for the Darjeeling, Mirik and Kurseong municipalities for the December 11 polls.

In wards, where there were more than one aspirant, Gurung asked the supporters of the prospective candidates to select a consensus candidate and then come back to him. It was then, in an attempt to discourage dissidence that he warned those who had been rejected. He said they should not contest as Independents.

“The party will have nothing to do with such a candidate. They will not be taken into the party fold even if they win,” he said.

Gurung also said the elected councillors must work in consultation with a board to be formed in each ward and made up of two members each from every unit of the party.

“Those (councillors) who work without consulting the board will be asked to resign,” he warned.

The Morcha had formed four groups of six members each in Kalimpong to zero in on the party candidates. The groups had over the past three days visited the wards and short-listed prospective contestants after interacting with a cross-section of local people. It had identified 10 wards, which had only one claimant to the ticket. Ward 22 was one of them. The party had already announced the candidature of L.B. Parihar from this seat.

In fact, the party has also made it known that Parihar, the former principal secretary of the DGHC, will be the chairperson of the municipality if the party wins the election.

As in the case of the other hill municipalities, the Morcha has given almost half the seats to women in Kalimpong too. Although only 8 of the 23 wards are reserved for women under the Election Commission norms, the party has given as many as 12 seats to the Nari Morcha for its contribution to the intensive statehood movement.