TMC announces support to Anit Thapa's party on 3 hill seats, won't field candidates

Trinamool Congress (TMC) has announced that it will not field its own candidates for the three key hill constituencies—Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong—in the upcoming 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. Instead, the party has decided to extend full support to its local ally, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), led by Anit Thapa. This move is designed to prevent a split in the anti-BJP vote and consolidate the Gorkha mandate under a single regional force.

The BGPM, which currently holds power in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), has already moved swiftly to name its contenders. Ruden Sada Lepcha will defend his seat in Kalimpong, while Bijoy Kumar Rai and Amar Lama have been nominated for the Darjeeling and Kurseong seats, respectively. By stepping back, Mamata Banerjee is signaling a "big brother" approach, prioritizing the defeat of the BJP over her own party’s symbol in a region where the saffron party has historically maintained a strong electoral grip.

This strategic retreat is being viewed as a pragmatic necessity for the TMC. In previous elections, fragmented opposition votes in the hills often benefited the BJP, which has held the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat for four consecutive terms. By formalizing this seat-sharing arrangement, the TMC-BGPM alliance hopes to present a united front that addresses local sentiments regarding Gorkha identity while leveraging the state government's developmental record in the region to swing the narrow margins seen in 2021.