There's a lot at stake in Darjeeling constituency for TMC and GJM

In Darjeeling, those backing key contestants have most to lose By Jaideep Mazumdar 

There's a lot at stake in Darjeeling constituency, which spans a slice of the eastern Himalayas and the plains below, for the Trinamool Congress and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. There's a lot at stake in This constituency, which spans a slice of the eastern Himalayas and the plains below, for the Trinamool Congress and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

There's a lot at stake in this constituency, which spans a slice of
the eastern  Himalayas and the plains below, for the
Trinamool Congress and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. 

DARJEELING: Generally, the poll outcome in a seat affects the fortunes of the contestants. But in Bengal, results for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency will affect the destiny of the backers of the two main candidates. There's a lot at stake in this constituency, which spans a slice of the eastern Himalayas and the plains below, for the Trinamool Congress and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, and for leaders of the two parties.

While both contestants — BJP's SS Ahluwalia who is backed by the Morcha, and Bhaichung Bhutia, fielded by Trinamool and supported by the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) — are 'outsiders', it is the Morcha and the Trinamool-GNLF combine who have much more to gain or lose. Morcha chief Bimal Gurung has staked his political future on the polls.

To a lesser extent, so has North Bengal development department minister and Mamata Banerjee's pointsman in the region, Gautam Deb, and Mamata herself. The other contenders— Independent candidate Mahendra P Lama, CPM's Saman Pathak and Congress candidate Sujoy Ghatak—are not expected to make it.
Deb, who insists Bhutia will win, told TOI the results would seal the fate of Gurung and the Morcha. Roshan Giri, Morcha general secretary, contends that while Trinamool's attempts to foray into the hills will suffer a blow, the GNLF will "die an immediate death".

For the Nepali-speaking population of the hills, Dooars and Terai belts of North Bengal, too, the outcome holds significance. This is the first time a candidate put up by a hillbased party (Ahluwalia) has faced a serious challenge from a candidate (Bhutia) from a plains-based party.

It has always been smooth sailing for anyone backed by a party that holds sway in the hills. For instance, in 2009, BJP's Jaswant Singh trounced CPM rival Jibesh Sarkar by nearly 2.5 lakh votes. Ahluwalia's defeat would also be a setback for the Gorkhaland movement.

Veteran Marxist Ashok Bhattacharyya told TOI the stakes for both the Morcha and Trinamool are unusually high. "It is a prestige battle for Mamata, one she may lose," he said. Lama speaks in the same vein.
"Ahluwalia's defeat will be the beginning of the end for Gurung and the Morcha. It will deal a blow to the aspirations of the hill people, who have turned against Trinamool because of its attempts to divide the hill people and the highhanded manner in which the Trinamool government dealt with the Gorkhaland stir. Bhutia's win would be a slap in the face of the hill people and the Morcha," said B N Rai, a former teacher of Loreto College and aide of Lama.

Bhaichung's defeat would re-establish the Morcha's primacy after the erosion of support and loss of image it suffered during and following the Gorkhaland stir. Not only would it buttress Bimal Gurung's position as strongman, it would give a fillip to the Gorkhaland movement.

And on the other side, says Nilesh Pradhan, a senior leader of the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CPRM) that is a breakaway of the CPM and has some following in the hills, the Trinamool's forcible ascent into the hills would be stopped in its tracks. As for GNLF, its renewed attempts to re-establish itself in the hills would get crushed.

Source: economictimes

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