Kolkata, Oct 6 (IANS) Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is likely to attend the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s (GJM) foundation day programme in the North Bengal hills on Wednesday.
If all goes well, he will be the main speaker at the GJM’s big rally in Darjeeling, said a state government official on Tuesday.
According to the official, preparations for the Chief Minister’s visit to Darjeeling have also started.
It may be noted that GJM president Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri met the Chief Minister in Kolkata last September. The political situation in the hills was discussed in the meeting held at the ground tent of the Public Works Department. At that time, Gurung and Giri invited the Chief Minister as the chief guest at the morcha’s foundation day function.
Government sources said that after accepting the invitation, the Chief Minister told them that the situation is different if the party’s central leadership calls him to Delhi for some urgent work. Otherwise, he will definitely attend the event in Darjeeling. According to the sources, the Chief Minister’s presence at Wednesday’s event is almost certain, keeping with that promise.
It is believed that the Chief Minister’s speech on the political future and development of the hills, as well as the GJM leadership at the event, may become important.
Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is currently an alliance partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre. In this year’s Assembly elections, GJM supported BJP candidates in several seats where it has influence in the North Bengal hills and plains. Its influence was also evident in the election results. BJP won several seats in North Bengal by a large margin. The lotus has bloomed in all three Assembly seats in the hills – Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong. Due to this political equation, the Chief Minister’s participation in the GJM’s foundation day event is considered significant in political circles. As a result, the Chief Minister’s visit is also being seen as a message of the state government’s new political equation with the hills.
The Chief Minister is scheduled to return to Kolkata on Wednesday after attending the event in Darjeeling. Before the visit, the state’s Transport Minister Arjun Singh went there to inspect the situation in the hills. Arjun Singh was also present at the GJM leadership meeting with the Chief Minister in Kolkata in September.
–IANS
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