Gorkha Body on Brink of Crisis, Warns IGJF Chief Edwards

• IGJF threatens en masse resignations from Gorkhaland Territorial Administration
• Ajoy Edwards slams state for opposing Centre’s interlocutor appointment
• Claims GTA remains weak, non-functional and ignores democratic norms
• Dispute intensifies ahead of West Bengal Assembly elections 2026

GG News Bureau
Darjeeling, 21st Nov: Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF) chief Ajoy Edwards on Friday warned that mass resignations could take place from the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), intensifying the political storm brewing in the Darjeeling hills. His statement comes days after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi objecting to the Centre’s decision to appoint retired IPS officer Pankaj Kumar Singh as interlocutor for the region.

Banerjee, in her November 17 letter, urged the Union government to revoke the appointment, calling it “unconstitutional” and a politically driven attempt to disturb peace and stability in the state. Singh has been tasked with holding talks with hill-based Gorkha groups over long-standing political demands.

Edwards criticised the state government’s stance, asserting that the GTA has become a “failed, non-functional and non-autonomous body,” similar to the now-defunct Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). He said the GTA Agreement of 2021 remains unimplemented, claiming a “deliberate political design” to keep the institution weak by withholding essential laws, rules and administrative frameworks for over 13 years.

He alleged that the administration is being run based on the “whims and fancies” of the state government and “a single individual in Darjeeling,” undermining democratic principles. He pointed out that GTA Sabha elections due in 2017 were stalled for nearly five years, while mandatory quarterly meetings have been largely ignored — with only three held in the past three years.

The dispute has gained fresh political significance with West Bengal heading into Assembly elections in 2026. The BJP, eyeing a stronger foothold in the state, continues to project the hills as a crucial electoral battleground — making the power tussle over the GTA a key flashpoint in the months ahead.