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Hills of Bengal gear for ‘khela’ in Phase-V polling

West Bengal’s hilly towns is all set for the fifth phase of the Assembly elections on Saturday. In the fifth phase, 13 constituencies from North Bengal—five in Darjeeling, one in Kalimpong and seven in Jalpaiguri districts—will go to polls on Saturday. The region has been a witness to several turbulent phases in Bengal history—from the […]

West Bengal’s hilly towns is all set for the fifth phase of the Assembly elections on Saturday. In the fifth phase, 13 constituencies from North Bengal—five in Darjeeling, one in Kalimpong and seven in Jalpaiguri districts—will go to polls on Saturday.

The region has been a witness to several turbulent phases in Bengal history—from the Gorkhaland movement to Naxalbari. A separate state of Gorkhaland has been a long-standing demand of Nepali-speaking Gorkhas. As for Naxalbari, it had been the hotbed of the rebellion movement in the spring of 1967. Apart from the political disturbance, the adversities of tea garden workers and lack of employment opportunities are the key issues in the region.

The BJP has become dominant force in North Bengal, especially after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The party has also promised a political solution to the Gorkha issue. Home Minister Amit Shah himself reached out to the Gorkhas, allaying any fears surrounding the CAA. The BJP also promised an increase in daily wages for tea workers to Rs 350. Caste card is also in the fray as BJP is trying to woo the ethnic and tribal population of the region with the promise of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The TMC, on the other hand, is trying its best to regain the lost ground and reckoned upon the development and welfare works made by her government. What came as a boost for the party was Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung switching from BJP to TMC. Gurung helped the BJP to make its footholds in this region is now with state’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The most talked-about contests will be in three seats such as Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong. Here the two factions of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) one led by Bimal Gurung and the other by his former deputy Binay Tamang are at a direct contest.

In the Darjeeling constituency, Pemba Tshering is the candidate for GJM (Gurung) and Keshav Raj Sharma for GJM (Tamang). BJP has fielded Neeraj Zimba Tamang from the seat. Gautam Raj Rai is the CPI(M) candidate from Darjeeling.

In these three constituencies, TMC has not fielded its candidate as GJM is backing the TMC. The GJM had won these seats in the last two Assembly elections.

In the Siliguri constituency, CPI(M)’s Ashok Bhattacharya is the key contestant against BJP candidate Shankar Ghosh and TMC’s Omprakash Mishra. Bhattacharya, the former Mayor of Siliguri is a prominent communist leader in North Bengal.

Further, Naxalbari, the cradle of an over 50-year-old Maoist movement has been witnessing a transition from a red belt into a saffron fabric. BJP has fielded Anandamoy Barman against Congress’ sitting MLA Sankar Malakar and TMC’s Rajan Sundas. Malakar has been representing the Matigara-Naxalbari Assembly constituency since 2011. The fifth phase of polling will be held on Saturday, with 319 candidates contesting for 45 constituencies across six districts—Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman.

WITH ANI INPUTS

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