Months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, a fresh political alignment is visible in the Darjeeling hills, with prominent Gorkha leader Binay Tamang joining the Congress party.
Mr. Tamang has been one of the most influential politicians of the hills. His latest move has triggered speculation that the 57-year-old leader may contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Darjeeling hills on a Congress ticket.
Mr. Tamang, who was a close aide of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) founder Bimal Gurung, brokered a peace with the Trinamool Congress government during the violent agitation in the hills from June to September 2017 over the demand for a separate State of Gorkhaland. He was appointed the chairperson of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the regional autonomous body administering Darjeeling hills. He quit the post in 2019.
