Mamata dials Anit Thapa, thanks Hills for peaceful polls
Darjeeling: Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee called up and congratulated BGPM President Anit Thapa along with the party for the landslide victory in rural polls in Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) area.
She has also thanked the Hill populace for the peaceful elections. The BGPM has assured that they will create an exemplary Panchayat system in the Hills, that will be a model for others in the country to follow. Two-tier Panchayat elections were held after a gap of 23 years in the Hills.
The GTA area comprises parts of the Darjeeling district mainly the hills and the Kalimpong district. 5 blocks fall under the GTA area in the Darjeeling district with 3,87,952 electors.
There are 70 Gram Panchayats with 598 seats and 5 Panchayat Samities with 156 Panchayat Samity constituencies under the GTA in Darjeeling district.
In Kalimpong, there are 42 Gram Panchayats with 260 constituencies and 280 seats. There are 4 Panchayat Samities with 76 constituencies with a rural elector population of 175932.
In the Gram Panchayat, there are 879 seats in the GTA area including 598 in Darjeeling district and 281 in Kalimpong.
In the Darjeeling district, BGPM won 349 seats; AITC- 5; BJP- 59 and Independent 185. In the Kalimpong district BGPM won 168 seats; AITC -1; BJP- 9 and Independent 82.
In the Pulbazar block of the Darjeeling district, BGPM won 12 Gram Panchayats; Independent 8 and 3 were hung out of 23 GPs. In the Jorebungalow-Sukhia block out of 16 GPs, 6 GPs were won by BGPM; 4 by Independent and 5 hung. In the Mirik block out of 6 GPs, 2 GPs went to BGPM; 1 to Independent and 3 hung; In Rangli Rangliot block out of 11 Gps, 7 fell in the BGPM kitty; 1 to BJP and hung 3. In the Kurseong block out of 14 Gps, 11 GPs were won by BGPM; 1 by Independent and 2 by BGP.
In the Kalimpong 1 block of the Darjeeling out of 18 GPs, BGPM won 14, BJP 2 and Independent 2. In the Lava block there are a total of 7 GPs out of which BGPM bagged 5 and 2 were Hung.
Gorubathan block has 11 GPs of which 7 were bagged by BGPM, 3 by Independent and 1 is Hung. In Pedong Block’s 6 GPs, 4 were bagged by BGPM, 2 by Independent.
Out of the 9 Panchayat Samities in the GTA area, BGPM won 6 (Pul Bijanbari, Kurseong, Sukhiapokhari, Rangli Rangliot, Kalimpong-1 and Lava;) BJP 1 (Mirik) and Independent 2 (Pedong and Gorubathan). Out of 156 Panchayat Samity seats in Darjeeling district, 90 were won by BGPM; 22 by BJP and 24 by Independent. In the Kalimpong district out of 76 seats, BGPM won 39; BJP 7 and Independent 30.
“The Chief Minister in a telephonic conversation congratulated us and the Hills for peaceful elections. We have restored peace, Panchayati Raj and even safeguarded regionalism,” stated Anit Thapa.
The BGPM has managed to make dents in constituencies that have been known as Bimal Gurung’s strongholds in Darjeeling. “We will set up an exemplary Panchayat system in the Hills for India to follow,” added Amar Lama, general secretary, BGPM.
BJP MP Raju Bista and GNLF President Mohan Ghising have asked all elected to rise above politics and work for the betterment of the Hills.
