Jalpaiguri: Around 25,000 supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti
Morcha, along with ex-leaders of the party who are in Trinamul now, held
a rally at Nagrakata in the Dooars on Sunday to express solidarity with
Mamata Banerjee and her party.
The supporters also attended a meeting convened by Trinamul in
a community hall where former Morcha leaders fumed at the BJP and Bimal
Gurung.
"Bimal Gurung had time and again dangled the carrot of
Gorkhaland in the Dooars and we had supported him. But he has failed to
include even a portion of the Dooars in the GTA area and worked only to
fulfil his own interests. Thousands of people in the Dooars had stood by
him but none of their aspirations was fulfilled. That is why we have
joined Trinamul and each of us will support the party's candidates in
the coming panchayat polls," said Sandip Chhetri, a former convener of
the Morcha in the Dooars.
The ex-leaders of the Morcha said it was necessary to showcase
their strength because there was a rumour that they would support the
BJP. Since 2008, most of the Gorkha people in the Dooars have supported
the BJP but this time, they have decided to back Mamata's party.
"Some campaigns are going on in the social media that Morcha
supporters in the Dooars will support the BJP. We wanted to debunk such
rumours through the rally and the meeting. Bimal Gurung and the BJP have
not done anything for us. We are with Trinamul and not any other
party," said Binod Ghatani, a former central committee member of the
Morcha.
Gorkha residents of both Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar
participated in the rally. As it reached the community hall in
Nagrakata, most of the rallyists could not enter inside and stood
outside to hear the leaders.
"A section of BJP leaders is trying to create confusion among
voters in the Dooars by claiming that they still have the support of the
Gorkha population. We have proved that Gorkhas are with us," said
Sourav Chakraborty, the Jalpaiguri district Trinamul president.
While the show of strength has has come as a fresh setback for the BJP.
"In the Dooars, the BJP has always banked on the Morcha and
could win some seats in the 2013 panchayat polls and even an Assembly
seat (Madarihat) in 2016. But considering the manner in which Morcha
supporters hit the streets and articulated support for Trinamul, it
would be tough for the BJP to secure their votes," said an observer.
The rally is also an indicator that like the hills, the support of Bimal Gurung is rapidly depleting in the Dooars, he said.
The Telegraph