आफ्नै शरीरमा कोर्रा हान्दै दार्जिलिंगमा नेपालीभाषीले गरे गोरखाल्याण्ड को माग हेर्नुहोस यस्तो डरलाग्दो शैलीमा विरोध गर्दै (भिडियो सहित)

The municipal elections in the north Bengal hills on Sunday have been described as the first real fight in a region attempting to move past a bloody, 100-year-old movement for separate identity and control. The elections to four civic bodies – Darjeeling, Mirik, Kalimpong and Kurseong – are crucial for the Trinamool Congress that is looking to open its account for the first time in the hills.But winning Darjeeling – the Queen of the Hills – is an uphill task because the hills have always voted for their own, and rejected parties from the plains of West Bengal. This is the result of decades of resentment against Kolkata for neglect and lack of development, and Bengalis who are seen to only look at Darjeeling as a hill station.On top of that is the movement for a separate Gorkhaland that has raged intermittently since 1912, and which, locals say has claimed more than 1,000 lives. No mainstream party has managed to navigate this minefield for three decades, and local parties are projecting this election as a Gorkhaland vs Bengal fight.“This is the first time we are witnessing a real contest,” said Jeta Sankrityayan, a professor at the North Bengal University.