Hill political parties begin to gear up for upcoming GTA election

Darjeeling: With Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declaring that elections to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) will be held after the publication of revised electoral rolls, Hill political outfits have started preparations.

As a run-up to the elections, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) on Friday announced the formation of an election coordination committee. "We have constituted a 17 member election coordination committee led by Trilok Chand Roka as the Chief Election Coordinator," stated Durga Kharel, spokesperson addressing media persons in Darjeeling.

"This committee will decide the issues on which elections will be fought by us," added Anit Thapa, the president. "The system that is in place (GTA) has to run and for that, we have to take part in electoral politics," stated Thapa.

While elections are on, the process to chalk out the permanent political solution (PPS) will be on.

"The Chief Minister had asked us to form a committee with members of other political outfits and decide on the PPS. We will not make any announcement unilaterally. We will hold discussions with the cross-section of society and decide on suitable options. The Chief Minister has given us a major advantage in allowing us to decide. The BJP-led Union government, on the other hand, has not asked its allies on their choice of PPS," added Amar Lama, general secretary.