Prominent Gorkha leader and former chairperson of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) — the regional autonomous body governing Darjeeling hills — Binay Tamang on Sunday joined the Congress.
Mr. Tamang joined the Congress in the presence of State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury at Kalimpong. Mr. Tamang was a close aide of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha founder Bimal Gurung before falling out with him during the 2017 violent agitation in the hills when the region remained cut off for about 100 days. Mr. Tamang started a dialogue with the Mamata Banerjee government and joined the Trinamool Congress. In 2019, Mr. Tamang had stepped down as GTA chairman and had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly by-election as an independent candidate with the support of the Trinamool Congress. Later, in 2021, he joined the Trinamool but left the party within a year.
The Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat has been electing BJP MPs since 2009. The issue of permanent political solution for Darjeeling has been crucial to the politics of the region as a section of people have been demanding a separate State of Gorkhaland. With Mr. Tamang joining the Congress, speculation is rife that he may contest the Lok Sabha polls from Darjeeling on a Congress ticket in 2024.
