Mamata Banerjee on 3-day visit to Darjeeling to attend swearing-in ceremony of GTA members

Kolkata, July 11: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will begin her three-day visit to Darjeeling on Monday, during which she will attend the oath-taking ceremony of 45 newly elected members of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

Banerjee is scheduled to arrive at Bagdogra Airport near Siliguri in the afternoon, and will attend the swearing-in ceremony at Darjeeling Chowrasta, popularly known as Mall, on Tuesday, he said.

"Banerjee will arrive in Darjeeling today and attend the event tomorrow. She is scheduled to return to Kolkata on Thursday," the official said.

Ten-month-old Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), helmed by former GTA chairman Anit Thapa, emerged victorious in the recently held GTA elections, winning 27 seats in the 45-member semi-autonomous council.

BGPM is a breakaway faction of the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) which boycotted the GTA polls held after a decade in the hills.

Another newly floated outfit, Hamro Party, and the Trinamool Congress bagged eight and five seats respectively, while five independent candidates emerged victorious in the GTA polls held on June 26.

Thapa formed BGPM in September last year. He shares a cordial relationship with the TMC, the ruling party of West Bengal, and even met Banerjee in Kolkata recently extending an invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony.