Darjeeling polls: Parties stir bitter brew of tourism, tea & tap water

Political observers believe that memories of the 2017 statehood agitation by GJM, which was crushed by West Bengal's TMC, will play a part in the upcoming election

Pandemic and social distancing forgotten, a huge crowd gathers in Siliguri, waiting to catch sight of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his helicopter lands. Among them is Rinchen Lama, a housewife who has travelled two hours from Kurseong. “It is so exciting to see all these VIPs,” she says, adding, “Last week, Smriti Irani came to our locality. Rumour has it that Amit Shah will also come soon.”

As state polls approach on April 17, neighbouring Assembly constituencies — Darjeeling and Kurseong —have also witnessed high octane rallies by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and allies Gorkha National Liberation Front and the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists.

In sharp contrast is the local, grassroots level campaigning of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which split into two factions (one headed by Bimal Gurung and the other by Binay Tamang) after its epic 105-day shutdown in 2017 to press for a separate Gorkhaland state.

Although the Tamang faction’s anthem, Sitti Bajao (blow the whistle), seems to have caught popular imagination, many worry about the inevitable division of Gurkha vote. “Over 70 per cent of people in Darjeeling and Kurseong are Gorkha,” estimates veteran labour leader P T Sherpa of GJM’s Bimal Gurung faction, adding, “Now that their vote will be divided, everyone is a little worried about the outcome of the elections to be announced on May 2.”

Political observers believe that memories of the 2017 statehood agitation by GJM, which was crushed by West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, will play a part in the upcoming election. “The public has not yet forgotten the police brutalities and political perfidies during that time,” says a leader of the Tamang faction, adding, “That’s why many can’t reconcile GJM’s alliance with TMC in this election.”

BJP which, in its 2019 election manifesto, had promised a permanent political solution to the Gorkhaland issue and to give scheduled tribe status to 11 Gorkha communities, has not made good on its pledge either.

In fact, for many locals, the slew of out-of-state ‘VIPs’ like Yogi Adityanath, Smriti Irani, and Kailash Vijayvargiya indicates that the country’s largest party is a tad out of touch with ground reality and Gorkha sentiments.

Anit Thapa, general secretary of GJM, said in a television interview, while walking with supporters through Mirik, that it’s a town in Kurseong constituency the BJP does not even know about, let alone understand its specific problems.

“The most important problem to solve in Darjeeling and Kurseong is of water distribution,” says Upend Chhetri, a driver from Kurseong.

The government’s piped water supply is yet to reach a large proportion of households in the hills and people like him spend at least Rs 2,000 a month to buy water from private suppliers. In neighbouring hamlet Makaibari, where piped water supply systems were constructed in 2020, GJM’s Anit Thapa, also the chairman of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, the autonomous district council which administers Darjeeling hills, has earned huge brownie points.

Local health worker Sheila Tamang says, “GJM has improved our civic infrastructure considerably and piped water has transformed our lives. That’s why we’re all rooting for the candidate Thapa’s supporting, Tshering Lama Dahal.”

Today, on the road from Kurseong to Darjeeling, the ubiquitous water tankers and the untidy web of private pipes alongside speak to the extent of the water issue in the hills. But insiders reveal that the fear of the powerful water tanker ‘mafia’ prevents most candidates from raising this one infrastructural issue that is most affecting local lives.

Lack of job opportunities — other than in tea and tourism — is another major issue. The pandemic has played havoc with tourism revenues, while tea, labour unions allege, does not pay enough. “We’ve been demanding that the daily wage of tea pickers be raised from Rs 202 to Rs 350 per day,” says Sherpa.

For cash-strapped locals, many of whom have received foodgrain during the lockdown, the Centre’s direct benefit schemes are alluring. BJP’s West Bengal election manifesto further promises to transfer Rs 18,000 under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana to 7.5 million farmers’ bank accounts. In comparison, state government initiatives like Duare Sarkar, Paray Samadhan, Swasthya Sathi, and Didi Ke Bolo helpline do not offer such visible direct benefits.

Meanwhile, there’s brisk movement of people across the Indo-Nepal border, barely 100 km away, as it is likely to be sealed ahead of the polls. “So many of us have ties across the border. What will happen if the BJP wins and implements the National Register of Citizens?” asks Chhetri.

As the idyllic tea bush-lined slopes of Darjeeling and Kurseong resound with cries of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Gorkha’, it is hard to predict which party will come out on top. While the BJP is in full force, political observers aver its three-time hold on Darjeeling parliamentary constituency was with GJM’s support.

Today, albeit fractured, GJM is a formidable adversary. Meanwhile Tamang, Chhetri and other locals believe the electoral outcome will change little on the ground. Once the results are announced on May 2, life as they know it, with no piped water, meagre livelihood opportunities, and an immediate future marred by the pandemic, will be back.