DARJEELING: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday met representatives of the various hill parties in Darjeeling and said elections to Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) would be held soon.
Banerjee, who is on a five-day visit to North Bengal, presided over a meeting with representatives of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha during the day, following which she called for the establishment of a three-tier panchayat system and a new GTA body in the Hills.
"All hill parties have agreed to GTA elections. Only the GJM has expressed other views. We want there to be a three-tier panchayat system and a new GTA body. The Centre has been requested to implement the three-tier rural body system. I want the GTA polls to be held in May-June," she told reporters.
The GJM, at the meeting, dropped its long-standing demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland and instead sought a political solution within the state.
"We have said that GTA elections should be held only after a political solution is reached. We want to stay within West Bengal, but there is a need for greater autonomy," he said.
The GTA, an autonomous district council formed in June 2011, held its first election the year after, with Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) bagging majority of the seats.
Polls to the council, however, have been pending since 2017, following a 104 day-long strike by the GJM, which had then accused the TMC government of trying to "wipe out" the Gorkha identity.
The strike also led to a split in the GJM, with Binay Tamang, his deputy, taking over the reins.
Gurung and his loyalists were expelled from the party.
In October 2020, however, Gurung, who had aligned with the BJP, pledged support for the TMC ahead of the assembly polls.
Tamang joined the TMC in December last year.