West Bengal: Chaos reigns in GJM as top leaders float own parties

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which under Bimal Gurung had staged violent protests in Darjeeling in 2017, is almost in a state of dishevel with top leaders floating their own outfits.On Friday, former general secretary Anit Thapa announced his decision to form a new political party on September 9. Thapa wants to bring the followers of Binay Tamang and Gurung under his party, people with knowledge of his plans told ET.

Formation of another hill party will cause more challenges to the West Bengal government, with the GJM being an ally of the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress. It will also pose challenges to hill leaders like Gurung and Tamang. Tamang, who had left the GJM on July 15, has not floated any political outfit yet. He may join Gurung’s faction or launch his separate party, people in the know said.In 2019, the West Bengal government had made Thapa the chairman of the board of administrators of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), a semi-autonomous development body which governs the administration in Darjeeling. This was after Tamang stepped down from the post to contest the assembly by-election in Darjeeling, which he lost to BJP’s candidate.Before the assembly polls earlier this year, Thapa was removed from the GTA and the autonomous body is now being run by a senior bureaucrat.Since 2017, Thapa has been the general secretary of the GJM faction of Tamang.Tamang and Thapa took charge after the then party chief Gurung took refuge in Delhi. Gurung had left the state after the Trinamool government cracked down on the Gorkhaland movement in 2017, but he continued to claim that his faction was the original party.Gurung resurfaced in the state in 2020 and offered to support Mamata Banerjee in the assembly polls held in March-April this year.At the moment, Gurung is trying to regain his hold in the hills. He has held public meetings at several places, including Kolakham in Kalimpong.The Gurung faction will relaunch the “original” Gorkha Janmukti Morcha soon, Roshan Giri, a senior leader of the faction, told ET.