Mirik municipality: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha nominated a first woman councillor as the chairperson

Darjeeling/TT/Vivek Chettri: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today nominated a first-time woman councillor as the chairperson of the Mirik municipality and another new face as the vice-chairman bypassing two senior leaders.

While Mala Subba (ward 4) is the party’s choice for the chairperson’s post, M.K. Zimba (ward 3) has been picked for the office of the vice-chairperson. Both of them won the election unopposed.

Their names were announced by Morcha president Bimal Gurung in Darjeeling today. In fact, he had threatened before the elections to five wards of Mirik that no senior leader would be offered the top civic posts even if they won.

“To respect the contribution made by the Nari Morcha during our agitation, we have decided to nominate Mala Subba to the chairperson’s post in Mirik,” Gurung said at the party office in Singamari.

Subba, a former school teacher, said she would work in consultation with the party leaders to develop the town.

The councillors of all four hill municipalities of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik will be sworn in on December 21.

The Morcha had already announced that Amar Singh Rai would be the chairman of Darjeeling municipality, while L.B. Pariyar and Samirdeep Blone would hold the post in Kalimpong and Kurseong respectively.

The novices’ ascent to power in Mirik has led to speculation that there was a tussle in the Morcha for the top posts.

Subba and Zimba have been chosen above L.B. Rai and Arun Ghisingh.

While Rai is a two-time former chairman of the civic body and a central committee member of the Morcha, Ghisingh is the vice-president of the party’s Mirik subdivisional unit.

Observers say the duo were bypassed because the party leadership felt that they were responsible for the elections to the five wards.

While all seats in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong were bagged by the Morcha unopposed, five out of nine wards in Mirik went to the elections because of Independents’ presence in the fray.

Without naming anybody, Gurung himself had slammed senior Morcha leaders in Mirik for the challenge the party faced from Independents in Mirik.

“Even if you win, I will not make you the chairman. I had earlier told the central committee members that they should not contest the elections and should give an opportunity to committed party workers. The problem in Mirik has cropped up because the central committee members tried to project their own candidates and at the end, they could not be made to withdraw the nominations,” Gurung told a rally in Darjeeling on November 20.

However, both Rai and Ghisingh said today that they would accept the party’s decision and would strengthen the hands of the new chairperson to develop Mirik.

“We had already said we would accept the party’s decision in this regard. We will work together and extend all co-operation to the new chairperson to develop Mirik,” said Ghisingh.