Months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, a fresh political alignment is visible in the Darjeeling hills, with prominent Gorkha leader Binay Tamang joining the Congress party.
Mr. Tamang has been one of the most influential politicians of the hills. His latest move has triggered speculation that the 57-year-old leader may contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Darjeeling hills on a Congress ticket.
Mr. Tamang, who was a close aide of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) founder Bimal Gurung, brokered a peace with the Trinamool Congress government during the violent agitation in the hills from June to September 2017 over the demand for a separate State of Gorkhaland. He was appointed the chairperson of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the regional autonomous body administering Darjeeling hills. He quit the post in 2019.
Mr. Tamang had always been uncomfortable with his association with the Trinamool and insisted that his decision to ally with West Bengal’s ruling party was to broker a peace in the strife-torn hills. He unsuccessfully contested the Darjeeling Assembly by-election in 2019 as an independent candidate with the support of the Trinamool. In December 2021, he joined the Trinamool, but quit the party a year later.
Soon after joining the Congress, Mr. Tamang raised the pitch for a permanent political solution in Darjeeling — a long-standing demand of the people of the hills. The Gorkha leader said that as a national party, the Congress could work towards a permanent political solution. He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had done nothing for the people of the hills.
For decades, a permanent political solution to the long-pending demand for Gorkhaland has remained central to the politics of the region. The Trinamool has been opposed to the idea of Gorkhaland, which entails carving out a State from the Gorkha-dominated areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong. It believes that agreeing to a change in the territorial boundaries of the State may impact its electoral prospects and upset other tribes in the region.
The BJP has tactically negotiated with this emotive issue. By promising a permanent political solution, it reaped electoral success in three consecutive Lok Sabha elections. It has also been allying with powerful political groups in the hills — first with the GJM and now with the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF). However, since the BJP has chosen not to repeat its candidate from the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat since 2004, there seems to be some unease among the voters of the hills about the party’s commitment to its promise.
Political opportunism has also guided politics in the Darjeeling hills. Mr. Tamang and Mr. Gurung both allied with the Trinamool at different times and then broke ties with the party alleging that it is not serious about a permanent political solution.
The political landscape in the hills has undergone a change from the mid-1980s when there was largely one-party rule — first by Subash Ghising of the GNLF and then Mr. Gurung of the GJM. Now, parties such as the Trinamool-backed Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) of Anit Thapa and the Hamro Party of Ajoy Edwards have also established their presence. The GTA and certain municipalities of the hills are now controlled by the BGPM.
Like every election since the 1980s, the issue of a permanent political solution for the Darjeeling hills is likely to dominate the 2024 elections. The BGPM’s success in local polls indicates that the people of the hills no longer support a politics of violence and strikes and bandhs. After 2017, there has been no major incident of political violence over the demand for Gorkhaland. The experiments of regional autonomous bodies such as the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (1982-2012) and the GTA (2012-till date) have failed to live up to the aspirations of the people demanding self-rule. Tea, tourism, and educational institutions have thrived in the hills, though trouble has been brewing in the tea industry.
With Mr. Tamang’s switch to the Congress, a bipolar contest between the BJP and Trinamool could turn into a triangular one. The presence of a strong local Congress leadership is also expected to provide a better opportunity and platform for discussion on a permanent political solution for the Darjeeling hills.
