Gautam deb says Gorkha Janmukti Morcha lost its clout in plains

Trinamul leader Gautam Deb today said the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had lost its clout in the plains as a large number of people had switched from the hill outfit to the ruling party because of Mamata Banerjee government's development agenda.

The north Bengal development minister, who is contesting from the Dabgram-Fulbari Assembly segment, said: "The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is a dwindling political force in the plains. In Dabgram-Fulbari, the Morcha had over 8,000 voters in 2011. But most of them have switched to Trinamul because of consistent development works carried out by our government in the past five years. As of now, the Morcha has hardly 500 voters in my constituency. The hill party has some votes in Matigara-Naxalbari Assembly segment but it is not a force to be reckoned with."

He said in the three-tier panchayat elections in Siliguri subdivision last year, the Morcha had fielded candidates in a number of seats but could not bag even a single panchayat in Matigara or Naxalbari block.

"This proves that people are deserting the Morcha and joining Trinamul. Nevertheless, we are keeping a close watch on the situation and accordingly, will devise our political strategy."

He was talking to newspersons on the sidelines of the Darjeeling district conference of the West Bengal Trinamul Secondary Teachers' Association in Matigara, on the outskirts of Siliguri.

Deb launched a broadside against the Left Front for extending support to the Morcha in three hill Assembly segments.

"The Left Front has lost its ideology and ethics. Their decision to support the Morcha is not in consonant with what Surjya Kanta Mishra said earlier. He had said the CPM would not support the Morcha unless it shunned its demand for a separate state and severed ties with the BJP. Despite such statements, yesterday's decision by the Darjeeling district Left leaders has raised serious questions about their intentions. The decision to support the Morcha also proves the Left Front's tacit understanding with the BJP."

Yesterday, Darjeeling district Left Front convener Jibesh Sarkar had announced that they would support the Morcha in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong in the .(TT)