Explainer: Ten years on, another ‘Gorkha coup’ in the offing?

With the support of Mamata Banerjee, with whom Bimal Gurung is now playing a cat and mouse game, Binay Tamang is likely to drum up his support base among the Gorkhaland supporters.
Bimal Gurung (PTI | FIle )
Bimal Gurung (PTI | FIle )

KOLKATA: Ten years after Bimal Gurung dislodged his mentor and Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) supremo Subhash Ghising from power, first by forming Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on October 7, 2007, then by shunting him out of the Darjeeling hills and finally assuming the charge as the chief executive of the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA), politics in the troubled hills has come a full circle with another Gorkha leader Binay Tamang threatening the power structure of the old GJM vanguard.

With the support of Mamata Banerjee, with whom Gurung is now playing a cat and mouse game, Tamang is likely to drum up his support base among the Gorkhaland supporters.

Q. Who is Binay Tamang?

A. Fondly known as ‘captain’ among his colleagues, Binay Tamang is one of the founding members of the GJM. From being a low-level GNLF worker, the 50-year-old Tamang climbed the ladders of the party and began brushing shoulders with leading figures like Bimal Gurung. In 2007, Tamang joined hands with Gurung to garner SMS votes for the 'Indian Idol' winner Prashant Tamang. Subsequently, he was awarded the post of assistant general secretary of GJM. Binay Tamang won the GTA elections unopposed from Bloomfield-Rishihat constituency. Along with the GJM general secretary Roshan Giri and Kurseong strong man Anit Thapa, Binay Tamang formed the core team of Bimal Gurung.

Q. What catapulted Binay Tamang to prominence?

A. After Bimal Gurung went into hiding following a police raid at his residence in mid-June and with Roshan Giri camping in New Delhi for over two and half months to lobby the central government for statehood, Binay Tamang became the face of GJM in all-party meetings as well as during the formation of the Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee (GMCC). His prominence was quickly noticed by the state government, which sent him an invitation for dialogue on Gorkhaland. He responded by representing GJM, despite Gurung's reservations.

Q. What caused the rift between Tamang and Gurung?

A. Binay Tamang attended the talks with Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on August 29, and after holding a meeting with the GJM central committee in Kurseong on August 31, he decided to temporarily lift the indefinite strike in the Darjeeling Hills for the period from September 1 till September 12, when second round of talks was due in Siliguri. Though Tamang claimed Gurung ordered him to lift the strike, Gurung said that the strike should not be lifted and decided to expel former core team members Binay Tamang and Anit Thapa for allegedly brokering a ‘deal’ with Mamata Banerjee to derail the statehood movement.

Q. What is the ‘deal’ that Gurung referred to?

A. Even before Binay Tamang returned back to the hills after meeting Mamata Banerjee, Bimal Gurung made public an audio recording of a 19-minute-long conference call between him, GJM leader Rohit Thapa -- who was part of the delegation that met Mamata Banerjee -- and one Avinash, who identified himself as a GJM supporter from Kolkata. While Rohit Thapa claimed that Binay Tamang and Anit Thapa brokered a deal with Mamata Banerjee at her residence and agreed to withdraw the strike, Avinash told Gurung that Binay Tamang and Anit Thapa are likely to float a new party next month with the support of Mamata Banerjee.

Q. How did Binay Tamang react?

A. Binay Tamang said he will drag Bimal Gurung and Roshan Giri to the court for ‘illegally’ expelling him and Anit Thapa saying that the decision was made with only 6 of the 93 GJM central committee members present. Also, the Tamang-Thapa duo was not given any formal notice regarding the expulsion. Tamang said he will not leave the party or form a new party. On the other hand, Tamang blamed Roshan Giri for denting his public image. He said Giri was frustrated as he was not able to do anything for the statehood movement despite camping in New Delhi for over two months. On the other hand, Tamang said he brought a breakthrough by initiating talks with the state government in less than a month’s time. Claiming that he took the decision to lift the strike only after getting a ‘go-ahead’ from Gurung, Tamang alleged that the GJM supremo backtracked after seeing the public sentiment against the withdrawal of strike. 

Q. Has Bimal Gurung given 'supari' (contract) to kill Binay Tamang?

A. Holding a press conference at Darjeeling Press Guild, Binay Tamang raised serious allegations against the GJM leadership. He claimed that two assassins have been hired from Nepal to kill him. After he announced the withdrawal of strike, the Binay Tamang’s residence came under attack. He has been given a heavy police protection ever since. 

Echoing Mamata Banerjee, Binay Tamang alleged a massive hinted at a massive squandering of central government funds granted to GTA. Tamang alleged that the money was used to buy properties in Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pokhara in Nepal as well as in places like Florida, and London. Tamang said that he will soon bring out a list of properties in India and abroad owned by the GJM leaders that were brought with GTA funds. He dramatically stated: "Mujhe nanga kar diye yeh log, ab main sabko nanga karunga (They disrobed me, now I will disrobe everyone)".

Q. Does Tamang have support within the party?

A. Put off by the alleged erratic nature of Bimal Gurung and the faulty decisions he has made, a section of the GJM leaders has for long desired to see a change of guard in the party. However, the public outburst against Binay Tamang following his announcement of the withdrawal of strike has made several of them rethink their support to Tamang as an alternative to Gurung. 

Q. Does Binay Tamang have public support?

A. The hurried manner in which Tamang declared the withdrawal of strike after his meeting with Mamata Banerjee has prompted many to suspect that he either brokering a deal with the West Bengal chief minister or buckled under her pressure. Many have argued that had Tamang secured a reduction in the number of troops stationed in Darjeeling or a resumption of the supply of rations, the public reaction would have been different. 

Q. Does Tamang have the support of other hills parties?

A. Before and after his meeting with Mamata Banerjee, several hill parties including GNLF and Jan Andolan Party (JAP) had criticised Bimal Gurung for hiding in the jungles. They considered supporting Binay Tamang as an alternative. They also silently lend support to Tamang when he declared the withdrawal of strike. However, as soon they witnessed the public fury against the withdrawal of strike, none of the leaders spoke anything on the Gurung-Tamang rift. Instead, they called it an internal matter of GJM. However, several political analysts in the hills have pointed out that both the GNLF and JAP were allies of the Trinamool Congress even six months back and it may not take them long before returning back to their former ally.

Q. How would the GJM in fighting affect the statehood movement?

A. The Gorkha supporters have hailed the recent bout of Gorkhaland agitation as a 'leaderless' mass movement. However, history shows us that every successful statehood movement was led by a strong leader who engaged in dialogue and negotiated with the central and the state governments and ultimately became the chief minister of the new state. Shibu Soren of Jharkhand and K Chandrasekhar Rao of Telangana are a few examples. 

Any internal conflict within the party at this critical juncture would send a message to the state and the Central government that the agitation has weakened. Taking advantage of the weak position of the agitators, they would then initiate talks on their terms and try to settle the issue with another autonomous council. 

Q. What can Mamata extract out of Binay Tamang?

A. After the first talks with pro-Gorkhaland parties, Mamata Banerjee toned down her hardline stance of “Gorkhaland would be created over my dead body” to passing the ball of statehood creation into the Centre's court stating that “Gorkhaland creation is beyond my jurisdiction”. Several political analysts saw this as the West Bengal chief minister's masterstroke as she knows that the BJP would not risk killing its prospects in the Bengal plains by separating Darjeeling and Kalimpong from West Bengal, which it wishes to govern in the future. By sidelining Gurung and crowning Tamang as the leader of a new autonomous council with greater powers, Mamata Banerjee may prevent the bifurcation of the state, thus upholding her credibility among the people of West Bengal ahead of the 2018 panchayat elections and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Q. How long can Bimal Gurung give Bengal police a slip?

A. Probably not for long. Even though the West Bengal government alleged that the Sikkim Police facilitated a safe exit passage for Bimal Gurung during a recent raid at his hideout at Namchi in south Sikkim, Sikkim police may soon have to assist their West Bengal counterparts in the operations to nab Gurung who face charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The West Bengal administration has accused Gurung of planning multiple bomb blasts that rocked several towns in the Darjeeling Hills. The GJM supremo is unlikely to take the foolhardy decision to escape to Nepal, which will dent his support base back home among the Gorkhas, who are known to be fierce patriots.

Q. Can the West Bengal Police kill Bimal Gurung in an encounter?

A. Chances of Gurung getting killed in an encounter with the West Bengal police cannot be ruled out. However, given the current political situation in the Darjeeling Hills, the Bengal administration understands that slaying Bimal Gurung would worsen the situation in the hills and may even pave the way for an armed insurgency with the support of Maoists from Nepal. As of now, their attempts are to nab Gurung alive.

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