Darjeeling, November 29 (Siliguri Chronicle) – Darjeeling’s political currents flowed into Agartala on Thursday, where Ajoy Edwards, chief convener of the Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF), shared the stage with Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma and Tripura royal scion Pradyot Debbarman at a “One Northeast” rally, a platform gaining momentum as a cross-regional solidarity movement.
The IGJF, led by Edwards, is the main opposition in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Sabha.
The rally was hosted by Pradyot Debbarman’s Tipra Motha Party in Tripura, coming just weeks after leaders from several regional parties formally announced plans to form a pan-Northeast political platform.
“We are not part of the northeast, but we want to join hands with them so that the voices of Darjeeling and also those of Ladakh can be pushed forward more strongly at the national level,” Edwards told The Telegraph.
The “One Northeast” campaign aims to bring together political parties from across the region under a single platform and flag.
Edwards clarified that leaders from Darjeeling and Ladakh were not considering a merger with the “One Northeast” bloc. Instead, he said, they want to work together to amplify the “marginalised voices” of their regions more effectively.
“I am in talks with leaders from Ladakh and Leh also. We are not part of Northeast, but the problems are similar. We want protection of our land, language, and culture. Since the demands are similar, we are currently working out modalities to be alliance partners while still retaining our singular party identity,” said Edwards.
On November 4, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma of the National People’s Party, Tipra Motha leader Pradyot Debbarma, Daniel Langthasa of the People’s Party, Assam, and former Nagaland BJP minister Mmhonlumo Kikon announced their plan to build “a strong, unified and indigenous political voice at the national level.”
On Thursday, speakers from various parties warned that the growing dominance of national parties was eroding regional aspirations.
“The move is basically to have more bargaining power at the Centre. In democracy, it is simple mathematics in play,” said Edwards.
The Darjeeling hills, along with the Dooars and Terai, are not part of the North Eastern Council (NEC). Yet this belt forms the land bridge between the seven northeastern states and Sikkim.
Sikkim was added to the NEC in 2002. Before that, the council covered only the seven states starting from Assam.
