Kolkata: After the veteran leader Eknath Khadse left the party in Maharashtra, the BJP in West Bengal has suffered a setback. Bimal Gurung, the supremo of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, said- ‘The Center has not fulfilled its promises regarding Gorkhaland. Mamata Banerjee has fulfilled all her promises. That is why I am leaving the NDA. In the 2021 assembly elections, we will respond to the BJP by forming an alliance with the Trinamool Congress. ‘
Bimal Gurung, who has been raising the flag for Gorkhaland for a long time, has said that our demand still remains. We will take our demand further. This is our goal and vision. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, we will support the party that will comply with our demands.
It is noteworthy that Bimal Gurung, who has been absconding for the last three years regarding the demand for Gorkhaland, suddenly appeared in Kolkata on Wednesday. “I am not a criminal,” he told the media. Nor am I a traitor to the country. I am a political leader. I want political means for my political demands.
Bimal Gurung had been running underground since the alleged murder of a policeman by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha activists in 2017. The Bengal Police had issued lookout notices on them and registered sections under the anti-terrorism law UAPA.
During the press conference, he said- We supported BJP for 12 years but nothing happened regarding our demands. Now I announce that I will support Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly elections. I am no longer with the NDA.
Significantly, Assembly elections are to be held in Bengal next year, so the return of Bimal Gurung is being seen as a big change. The Mamata Banerjee government has been supporting Bimal Gurung’s rival Binoy Tamang in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. Now with Bimal Gurung’s support for Mamata Banerjee, the political dice in the Darjeeling area may turn.
