June 16: The Congress has not fielded candidates in more than 1,000 seats in the two lower tiers of the panchayat in Jalpaiguri district, raising doubts whether its support base has dwindled.
The Congress said it had left vacant 1,052 seats — 931 in panchayats and 121 in panchayat samitis — for the convenience of entering into an alliance with regional parties.
But political observers said the emergence of regional parties and the growth of Trinamul, especially in the Dooars, had weakened the Congress.
The final lists of candidates published by the district administration on Friday show that the Congress is contesting in 1,415 of 2,346 seats in gram panchayats and 301 of 422 seats spread across all 13 panchayat samitis.
“The data point to the Congress’s downfall in Jalpaiguri district, especially in the tea belt where the party has fielded less candidates. This is largely because the Congress’s trade union, Intuc, has grown weaker in tea gardens. The trade union base of the Left Front constituents has also eroded, but they could find adequate candidates for gram panchayat and panchayat samiti seats,” said an observer.
In the Dooars, the panchayat elections are largely fought on the basis of the strength of tea garden unions. Since the last panchayat election in 2008, the PTWU, the union backed by the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad, and John Barla’s splinter tribal group that has joined the JMM have made inroads.
The Parishad came into prominence because of the Gorkhaland movement, which it vociferously continues to oppose. Trinamul, which does not have union presence in the Dooars gardens, has of late reported that tribals from other parties were drifting towards it.
In 2008, the Congress had won 360 panchayat seats and 54 seats in panchayat samitis.
A Congress leader who didn’t want to be named admitted to the party’s dwindling support base in the Dooars.
“The trade unions of new outfits like the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had eaten into the cadre base of the Intuc in the tea belt. That is why the party couldn’t field enough candidates for the last two tiers of the panchayat system,” said the Congress leader.
Officially, the Congress refuted the theory that the party was contesting lesser seats because of loss of strength. “It would be wrong to say our support base has weakened in some parts of the district. As part of our strategy, we have left these seats vacant so that an alliance can be forged with regional organisations even after the nomination process,” said Biswaranjan Sarkar, a former district president of the Congress.
But Sarkar couldn’t clarify why the 1,052 seats were left vacant when the Parishad hasn’t fielded candidates in so many seats.
शिक्षक प्रमुखको लापारवाहीको कारण बेहाल अवस्थामा चम्पामाया प्रथमिक पाठशाला
पहाड़को प्रथमिक पाठशालाहरु एका एक बन्द हुनुमा सरकार पक्ष दोषी छ कि शिक्षक-शिक्षिकाहरुको लापारवाही? किन दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को शैक्षिक स्तर दिनोदिन खस्किन्दै गइरहेको छ? प्रथमिक शिक्षा बाल-बालिकाहरुको निम्ति महत्तवपूर्ण हुँदा-हुँदै पनि किन आजसम्म पहाड़को शिक्षा व्यवस्थामा सुधार आउन सकिरहेको छैन?
राजनीति गर्दिनँ भन्नु पनि अर्को राजनीति होः हर्कबहादुर छेत्री
मेरो अधिकारक्षेत्रभित्र पाँच बर्षको लागि जनताको हितको काम गर् भनेर मलाई भोट हालेको हो नि। मलाई थाहा छ यसले जनताको धेरै हित हुन्छ। यसले जनताको हितसँगै पार्टीको पनि हित हुन्छ, आन्दोलनलाई पनि सहयोग पुर्याउँछ भनेपछि एकदम निसंकोच भनेर अघि बढ्न सक्छु म। म त्यही काम गर्दैछु।
बघिनी फेरि पुरानै खोरमा
‘समयले मानिसलाई कहाँ कहाँ पुर्याउँछ,,,,,,’ कुनै समय रेडियो नेपालबाट बजिरहने यो चर्चित गीतले मान्छेको जीवनमा प्रणयसम्बन्धको आरोह अवरोहले पार्ने प्रभावलाई सुन्दर ढंगले व्याख्या गरेको छ। यो लोकप्रिय गीतको यही एक हरफ कुनै राजनीतिकर्मीको जीवनसँग गाँसेर हेर्दा के उत्तर पाइएला?
साहित्य अनि सर्जकलाई माया गर्ने घिसिङ
80 को दशकमा देशभरिका गोर्खाहरूलाई जातित्वको भावना उत्पन्न गराउने प्रथम नेता सुवास घिसिङको निधनले अहिले घड़ी सम्पूर्ण दार्जीलिङ पहाड़ नै स्तब्ध बनेको छ। गोर्खाहरूका हित अनि अस्तित्वका निम्ति छुट्टै राज्यको बहस लिएर सुवास धिसिङले त्यसताक पहाड़का प्रत्येक गाँऊहरूको भ्रमण गरेका थिए। 22 जुन 1936 सालमा मिरिकको मञ्जु चियाबगानमा जन्म लिएरका सुवास घिसिङले आफ्नो तर्क राख्न एकलै जनसभा गर्थे। घिसिङले सम्पूर्ण गोर्खाहरूलाई एकै शुत्रमा बाँध्न "गोर्खाल्याण्ड" शब्दको जन्म गरेका थिए।
निराश छन् विधायक डा. छेत्री
“बजट सत्रमा के कुराहरू उठान गर्नु पर्ने भन्नेबारे हामीले जीटीएबाट कहिले फिडब्याक पाएका छैनौं” डा छेत्रीले भने। डा हर्कबहादुर छेत्री मोर्चाका प्रवक्ता हुन् अनि कालेबुङका जनप्रतिनिधि। दुइवटा महत्वपूर्ण पदमा बसेका डा छेत्रीलाई अहिलेसम्म जीटीएको बैठकमा निम्ताइएको छैन, पार्टीको राजनैतिक लाइनबारे उनीसँग चर्चा र छलफल नगरिएको त झन कति भयो, उनैलाई हेक्का छैन।
