By Isaac Gomes and pictures by Fr Paul Sitling –
Keeping with the encouraging trend of three Catholic candidates performing well in the recent three-tier West Bengal Panchayat elections held for 63,229 Gram Panchayat seats, 9,728 Panchayat Samiti seats, and 928 Zilla Parishad seats; three more Catholic candidates from the Darjeeling hills have won the contest.
Also, read:
West Bengal Panchayat Election: Three Catholic Women Emerge Victors
This development was shared by Fr Paul Sitling, the energetic and enterprising Parish Priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Tendrabong. The stellar performers from the Darjeeling hills are:
Ms Anju Bomzon1. Ms Anju Bomzon. She won uncontested in the Gram Panchayat election from Maria Busty, Kagay Bazar, Kalimpong. She belongs to Vijaya Rani Girja (built in 1910) situated on the hill opposite to Pedong – the tri-junction of Sikkim, Bhutan and Kalimpong. Anju’s sister Gladys Bomzon is a judge and was posted in Sealdah Court, Kolkata a few years ago.
Mr Palden Donald Dukpa2. Mr Palden Donald Dukpa: He won from Tendrabong (under Saikyong Gram Panchayat of Kalimpong block II). Fr Paul Sitling is Parish Priest there.
Ms Arpana Lepcha3. Ms Arpana Lepcha: She won from Lingseykha Gram Panchayat – Kalimpong District.
All the above three candidates were nominated by Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM). Anit Thapa is its president and also the Chairman of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). GTA is an autonomous self-governing body, established by the Assent of the President of India on 12th March 2012, to administer Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and some mouzas of Siliguri sub-division for socio-economic, infrastructural, educational, cultural, and linguistic development of the region, bearing in mind the ethnic identity of Gorkhas in the region.
According to the Telegraph Online dated 12 July 2023, the BGPM have won more than 60 per cent of the Gram Panchayat (GP) and Panchayat Samiti seats. There are 879 GP seats in the 112 GPs in Darjeeling and Kalimpong and 232 Panchayat Samiti seats in the nine Panchayat Samitis. There are no Zilla Parishads in the hills as GTA also handles finance.
Regarding the annual budget of Gram Panchayats, overall, a small Gram Panchayat of about 2000 population can have a spending of close to Rupees One Crore per annum.
The news of the above victories by our Catholic leaders will definitely be a big boost for lay leadership in Bengal. It is evident that the education provided by our missionary institutions is at last paying off! [Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13: 1–9, 18–23)].
Congratulations all round.