Political parties in the Darjeeling hills have stepped up preparations for overdue municipal elections, placing Kalimpong’s drinking water, waste management, drainage, roads and parking facilities at the centre of their early civic campaign discussions.
The Bharatiya Janata Party held a preparatory meeting on Monday of its Kalimpong Municipality election monitoring committee. Darjeeling MP and BJP national spokesperson Raju Bista attended the meeting, which reviewed the forthcoming polls, problems faced by residents and ways of addressing them on the ground.
According to the party statement, the discussions covered drinking water supply, waste management, drainage, municipal roads and parking facilities. The meeting also considered trade and tourism, land rights for residents living on Darjeeling Improvement-fund land, the proposed establishment of a medical college in Kalimpong, and improvements in healthcare and sanitation.
“Kalimpong deserves better services and a better future, and we are committed to ensuring this,” Bista said, according to the statement.
The meeting was attended by West Bengal law minister Biraj Biswas, BJP Darjeeling district president Sanjeev Lama, Kurseong MLA Sonam Lama and other senior district leaders. The BJP’s focus on municipal services comes as parties in the hills organise ahead of elections that have been pending in Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik since 2022.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, an ally of the BJP, held a meeting at its central office in Singamari, Darjeeling, on Sunday. Party president Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri joined representatives of subdivision and town committees from across the hills. The meeting discussed municipal election preparations, electoral strategy, organisational readiness and public outreach, according to a source cited in the report.
The Morcha leadership also stressed transparency in development projects, accountable administration and the need to build corruption-free hills. The emphasis places municipal administration and the implementation of local development works alongside electoral organisation.
The Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front, led by Ajoy Edwards, held a central executive committee meeting at its Kalimpong office on Sunday. Edwards, party general secretary N.B. Khawas, women’s wing president Bandana Rai and other committee members reviewed the organisation’s electoral role, coordination among workers and links with residents. The party did not disclose final decisions on its election strategy.
The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, led by Anit Thapa, has appointed three election in-charges to oversee preparations in Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik. The appointments add to the wider organisational activity under way across the hills as parties begin positioning themselves for the municipal contests.
The report did not specify an election schedule or provide details of proposed projects, funding commitments or implementation timelines for the civic issues discussed. The next formal milestone will be the announcement and conduct of the pending municipal elections in the three hill towns.
