Siliguri  : The Congress candidate for Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency, Sujoy Ghatak, today said his rivals were campaigning solely on the emotive issue of Gorkhaland but he his plank would be development.

    Ghatak today spoke to lawyers at the Siliguri court premises.

    Ghatak seeks votes from lawyers in Siliguri on Wednesday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo
    Ghatak seeks votes from lawyers in Siliguri on Wednesday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo
    “Everybody, be it the BJP, Trinamul or the CPM, is seeking votes on Gorkhaland and speaking for or against it. It seems that other than the issue of the separate state, there is no other topic in the Darjeeling constituency for these candidates to speak about. We are against a campaign that panders to the sentiments of the people, whether in the hills or the plains. Instead, the Congress is asking for votes on the development plank in Darjeeling as well as across the country,” he told journalists after the interaction with the lawyers.

    Ghatak was the third candidate after S.S. Ahluwalia of the BJP and Bhaichung Bhutia of Trinamul to call on the lawyers in Siliguri and seek their votes.

    “The Congress is speaking about development, the schemes implemented in the hills and efforts of the Centre to execute the Balasun drinking water scheme, 100 days’ work and other schemes. Our leaders and I tell voters about the Congress’ plans for development. They are also being told how the central government has acted responsibly, intervened on time and assisted the state in granting autonomy to the hills by forming the GTA Sabha.”

    He added: “The Centre’s assurance of funds to the hill body is also being highlighted in the campaign. We are confident that people, whose primary requirement is development, will stand by us and ignore the claptrap of other parties over the statehood.”

    In the 2004 general elections, Congress candidate Dawa Narbula had defeated his nearest rival, Moni Thapa of the CPM, in Darjeeling by securing 44.70 per cent votes with the support of the GNLF.

    In 2009, Narbula was fielded again in the seat and he lost to Jaswant Singh of the BJP and finished third. The percentage of Narbula’s vote share came down to 19.43 per cent. Singh was backed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

    Observers say the real battle this time is between Ahluwalia, who is supported by the Morcha, and footballer Bhaichung.

    Ghatak today took a dig at the credentials of Bhaichung and Ahluwalia without taking names.

    “I do not play football. Also, I would like to say that Darjeeling always welcomes visitors as tourism is an important sector that contributes to the development of the district. But I find it odd that a person is coming here as a tourist on the eve of the polls and contesting as a candidate. I am a local person who understands the aspirations and problems of the people in the Darjeeling Parliament constituency,” said Ghatak.

    Source: Telegraph

    Darjeeling: Sujay Ghatak, the Congress candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, had to face the ire of party leaders in the hills for not turning up at the party office in Darjeeling on the day he filed his nomination.

    Sujay Ghatak Darjeeling Lok Sabha 2014 Congress candidate
    Sujay Ghatak Darjeeling Lok Sabha 2014 Congress candidate


    Ghatak apologised for his oversight and later, he said all differences in the party had been sorted out.

    He had filed his nomination before the district magistrate here on March 24. The Congress candidate was accorded a rousing reception on that day by Trinamul supporters who mistook his rally for that of Bhaichung Bhutia.

    However, Ghatak was at the receiving end today when he stepped into the Congress (hill) office here. Ghatak immediately went into a huddle with leaders like Nakul Chandra Chhetri, Lawrence P.T. Lama, Chabbi Rai, Hem Rai and K.B. Chhetri.

    Waiting journalists could hear the hill leaders tearing apart Ghatak for breaking what they called a Congress tradition. “It has been a tradition of the Congress that candidates first come to the Darjeeling office and the supporters accompany them to file the nominations. Why did you fail to come to the party office? If this is the attitude, then no Congress worker from the hills will vote for you,” a leader was heard shouting at Ghatak.

    Ghatak admitted that the hill Congress leaders had shouted at him during the meeting. “I admit that my senior leaders shouted at me today and I also understand their anger. The problem arose because of some miscommunication and I apologised for not coming to the Congress office on that day I filed the nomination. But I am happy that there are no more differences in the party after the meeting. We are part of a big family and at times, such issues do crop up and they get solved also.”

    The Congress candidate said he would sit with the hill leaders and finalise the date for a public meeting in Darjeeling. “We are trying to get senior Congress leaders and even Rahul Gandhi to address our meeting in Darjeeling. We want to work towards removing the mental divide between the hills and the plains,” said Ghatak.

    Source: Telegraph

    Gorkha Development Council (GDC), Govt. of Assam Chief Shri. Lok Nath Upadhyaya and former AAGSU Advisor and Gen Secretary and Spokesperson of Assam Gorkha Sammelan now a INC Member Bhaskar Dahal is seen felicitating RAHUL GANDHI Vice President of Indian National Congress with a Gorkhali Khada and Dhaka Topi at BishwanathChari Ali yesterday alongside is Bhupen Bora Bihupuria MLA and Congress candidate for Tezpur Constituency said to capital of Gorkhas of Assam while President of Assam Gorkha Sammelan and former veteran Congress leader 3 times MLA and 2 times MP from Tezpur Shri. Moni Kumar Subba is an INDEPENDENT Candidate from Tezpur Constituency. The All Assam Gorkha Students' Union (AAGSU) have declared moral support to M K Subba. 

    RAHUL GANDHI Vice President of Indian National Congress with a Gorkhali Khada and Dhaka Topi
    RAHUL GANDHI Vice President of Indian National Congress with a Gorkhali Khada and Dhaka Topi 


    Source: Pitamber Newar

    Siliguri, March 24: Four years since Rahul Gandhi’s last visit to the Dooars, the region has seen the emergence of Trinamul as a force.

    Alliances  have made tough for Congress in North Bengal
    Alliances  have made tough for Congress in North Bengal
    Rahul, party sources said, would attend a workers’ meeting on the playground of Zurantee Tea Estate near Metelli under Malbazar subdivision of Jalpaiguri tomorrow morning, about 24 hours ahead of Mamata Banerjee’s visit to north Bengal.

    The chief minister is scheduled to address two workers’ meetings at Gorubathan in Kalimpong and one close to Dooars, and in Birpara in the Dooars on Wednesday morning and afternoon.

    On September 15, 2010, Rahul had been to Jalpaiguri to attend a convention of tea garden youths. “Back in 2010, the only considerable force that the Congress had to counter, was the Left,” a source said.

    “But after 2011 when Trinamul came to power, it made bases in the Dooars. Also, the emergence of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad and its directive to the tribals to vote for Trinamul, the alliance of the BJP and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and JMM, have made the turf quite tough for the Congress.”

    Source: Telegraph

    The Congress candidate for Darjeeling, Sujoy Ghatak, was accorded a rousing reception today by supporters of his rival from Trinamul, though unwittingly, when he arrived at the district magistrate’s office here to file his nomination.

    Ahluwalia (in pink turban) with supporters of the Morcha, BJP and the Lok Janshakti Party after filing his nomination in Darjeeling on Monday. Picture by Suman Tamang
    Ahluwalia (in pink turban) with supporters of the Morcha, BJP and the Lok Janshakti Party
    after filing his nomination in Darjeeling on Monday. Picture by Suman Tamang

    Ghatak was welcomed with claps from Trinamul supporters who were caught unawares in their bid to outdo the cadres of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

    The supporters of Trinamul and the Morcha had gathered outside the district magistrate’s office to welcome their candidates, Bhaichung Bhutia and S.S. Ahluwalia, respectively. Apart from Ghatak, Bhutia and Ahluwalia, SUCI-backed candidate Gautam Bhattacharya also submitted his papers today before district magistrate Puneet Yadav, who is also the returning officer of the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat.

    The Trinamul cadres were awaiting footballer Bhutia when they heard the slogan “Vande Matarm” from a distance. They started clapping just like the Morcha supporters had welcomed Ahluwalia an hour earlier.

    As the claps grew louder, someone shouted from the Trinamul crowd: “This is not our candidate.” Ghatak, the Congress candidate, had by then finished flashing a smile with folded hands, probably surprised by the warm reception from his rival party. The Trinamul supporters could do nothing but merely laugh at the events that had just unfolded.

    The drama outside the DM’s office started with a flag battle.

    Around 10.30am, Trinamul supporters started gathering on the premises of the DM’s office. Even though Bhaichung was supposed to file his papers in the afternoon, the enthusiastic supporters had started flocking to the venue since morning.

    Morcha supporters reached the DM’s office around 11am as Ahluwalia was slated to file his nomination within 30 minutes. Just when the Morcha supporters were gathering, Trinamul workers were seen holding aloft 10 party flags. The Morcha supporters soon managed to get 24 flags of the BJP, which fielded Ahluwalia in Darjeeling. Not to be outdone, Trinamul brought extra flags and assembled more supporters.

    The Ahluwalia camp was, however, seen winning the flag battle as supporters of Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party also joined in with their flags. The Morcha flags also started to flutter outside the DM’s office.

    The LJP is an ally of the BJP and its supporters were believed to have come from the plains. Interestingly, the battle of flags was fought without raising a single slogan.

    When Ahluwalia came to file his nomination, the BJP-Morcha-LJP supporters merely welcomed him by claps. Nomination over, the BJP-Morcha-LJP members raised slogans trailing Ahluwalia who walked till Darjeeling town.

    The venue was clear for the Trinamul candidate. Eager to show their strength and ensure a rousing welcome to Bhaichung, they lined up right up to the entrance to the DM’s office. But the claps reserved for the footballer went to Ghatak. It was around 1.45pm, when Bhaichung reached the DM’s office, accompanied by a large number of supporters.

    In the battle, there were three distinct winners today.

    In terms of footfall, the footballer emerged a clear winner. With three different flags to back him, Ahluwalia was the winner in the most varied flag fight. However, the overall winner seems to be Ghatak who was welcomed by not only Congress workers but also the rival’s supporters.

    Unaware of the battle of flags, the candidates were seen prepared for the real battle. Soon after filing his nomination, Ahluwalia said he was “aware of the people’s aspiration and expectations”.

    Asked about the opposition against division of Bengal by the BJP’s state committee, Ahluwalia said: “Wait for the manifesto and everything will be clear. Don’t jump the gun right away.”

    Bhaichung, on the other hand, said: “The people of Darjeeling have supported me a lot when I was playing. Today’s support shows we will be the Number 1 both in the plains and the hills.”

    Source: Telegraph

    For the past couple of days, almost all the candidates for Darjeeling Constituency seat have started their respective campaigning in Darjeeling hills. Following the same trend, the Congress candidate from Darjeeling Sujay Ghatak today visited Darjeeling hills and met his supporters at the party office in Kurseong.


    Darjeeling Congress candidate Sujay Ghatak met supporters in Kurseong
    Darjeeling Congress candidate Sujay Ghatak

    Party supporters from different places in the hills were present at the meeting today, where they discussed on different polls strategies. The supporters also briefed the Congress leaders about various problems and issues related to the hills.

    Talking to the reporters, Ghatak said that the main agenda of the party is to clear the psychological differences between the plains and the hills. He said Congress has planned many development projects to be implemented in the hills. He added many heavyweight political personalities of the Congress party including Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is expected to visit the hills and address the public here. 

    Source:EOI
    West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday strongly criticized the Congress-led UPA Government for creating Telengana by dividing Andhra Pradesh and alleged that it also aimed at dividing West Bengal.

    West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee
    West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress
    chief Mamata Banerjee 
    Addressing party workers’ meetings at Itahar in North Dinajpur district and Malda district, both of which are Congress strongholds in North Bengal, she alleged: “The Congress and the BJP aligned together to divide Andhra Pradesh. Their excuse was that small states can be governed better. They are now planning to divide Bengal too on the same pretext and the CPM is also in league with them.”

    Banerjee said that under no circumstances would she allow the state to be divided and said the hills of Darjeeling were very much part of West Bengal.

    There has been a long standing demand for a separate Gorkhaland state comprising the hill sub divisions of Darjeeling and it is now being spearheaded by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which has extended its support to BJP nominee S S Ahluwalia who is contesting from Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency.

    Both North Dinajpur and Malda are Mulsim majority districts in West Bengal and the three Lok Sabha seats there were won by Congress nominees during the 2009 elections.

    While Union minister of State for Urban Development Deepa Das Munshi won from Raigunj Lok Sabha constituency, Union Minister of State for Health A H Khan Chowdhury and Mausam Noor won from Maldaha Dakshin and Maldaha Uttar, respectively.

    Trying to woo the minority voters, Banerjee accused the Congress of “organising riots in Assam and Uttar Pradesh”.

    “The Congress always plays its minority card before each election and then they forget about you. The party has been doing this for the last 66 years. Their leaders are now raising the bogey of Modi just to woo Mulsim votes. But after polls, they will forget you and indulge in communalism just like the BJP,” she alleged.

    Banerjee further alleged that the BJP too was trying to fuel communal tension in West Bengal. “Only during elections, they talk about Ram and Hanuman. But where were they during our main festivals like Durga Puja and Kali Puja,” she asked. 

    The CPM, claimed to be a party of atheists, also indulged in communal politics, she alleged.

    Source:newindianexpress