Lone opposer Subba refuses to stand back

Kalimpong, July 23: Sanchabir Subba, the Independent candidate from Gidabling-Nimbong in Kalimpong, is the only person standing between the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and its dream of a clean sweep in the GTA elections right now.

The 32-year-old schoolteacher in the remote Gidabling-Nimbong constituency, is flaunting his local appeal against the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s candidate Kayan Dewan.

Subba was suspended from the Morcha on July 12 after he refused to withdraw his nomination as an Independent.

On Saturday, Morcha chief Bimal Gurung said the doors to the party would close forever for Subba but that has not made the schoolteacher relent.

The Trinamul Congress on Saturday said it would “withdraw” its campaign for the GTA elections, which made Subba the only one to contest against a Morcha candidate in the July 29 polls. “I am not contesting against the party, nor am I against Bimal Gurung,” said Subba, who lives in the remote village of Borbut, about 65km from here. Subba was the president of the Morcha’s Nimbong-Parbintar unit.

Gurung also said on Saturday that even if Dewan lost the election, the party would include him in the GTA Sabha as one of the five nominated representatives.

Subba said he has nothing against Dewan. “I am not saying he is not suitable. I am only saying that our’s is a very remote and rural area and it is the wish of the local people to have a local representative. Our representative should be someone who understands local problems,” he said.

The soft-spoken, mild-mannered Dewan teaches in Kalimpong College and lives in Kalimpong town.

People in the Nimbong area said Subba is popular among local people. But since the Gitabling-Nimbong constituency is a vast area, it would be difficult to ascertain the reach of his popularity. Residents said Subba has been campaigning door to door in the villages.

The 10,291 eligible voters from the constituency will decide on July 29 whether the Morcha has erred in ignoring Subba, a post-graduate in political science from North Bengal University. The Gitbaling-Nimbong constituency is one of the most remote and underdeveloped areas in the hills. Some villages in the area do not have roads or electricity. Students have to walk for miles to attend schools.

Trinamul nomination withdrawal upsets hill members

Trinamul Congress leaders from the hills on Monday expressed disappointment over the party’s decision to withdraw from the GTA polls.

Trinamul chief and chief minister Mamata Banerjee, while speaking at a rally in Calcutta on Saturday, announced that her party would not take part in the polls.

Technically, it is not possible for the party to withdraw its candidates now because the date for withdrawal of nominations has passed. But Mamata’s decision would mean Trinamul was giving the Morcha a walkover.

“We were shocked about the announcement ,” said Rajen Mukhia, a Trinamul candidate from the Panighata seat, in Siliguri. The aggrieved leaders, Mukhia said, will hold a meeting with the minister for north Bengal development Gautam Deb on July 27. (TT)