The Trinamool Congress (TMC) swept to power in West Bengal over a decade ago and easily regained it for two more terms. Despite its years of domination, the party had yet to establish a foothold in the Darjeeling Hills. Until now.

The Mamata Banerjee-led party, which has never enjoyed political success in the Hills, won five of the 45 seats in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) elections on June 29. The elections were held after a ten-year hiatus. The ruling party's influence has also been bolstered by the demise of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which had been the biggest political force in the Hills for years, and the resounding success of Anit Thapa's Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), which won 27 seats in the GTA elections.

Mamata Banerjee is on a three-day trip of Darjeeling, and the BJP argues the GTA vote results would not convert into TMC wins in the LS polls.

Thapa, who once belonged to a pro-TMC group of the GJM, is still seen as close to the governing party and will have to rely on it if the Hills development programme is to be implemented. Thapa went to the state secretariat last week to invite Banerjee to Darjeeling for his swearing-in ceremony as GTA chairperson. Banerjee accepted the offer and travelled to the Hills for a three-day tour this week.

"The people of the Hills seek growth and tranquilly." That is why they desire GTA. The Hills' elections have never been so serene. GTA elections were held to guarantee the hills' peace and stability. We desire growth and prosperity for the Hills. We do not want violence or disruption. Please do not disturb the serenity and stability of the Hills. Allowing a few leaders to incite violence is not acceptable. If peace and security are maintained in the Hills, the economy would benefit," the CM added, guaranteeing investment in the region.

Thapa agreed as well. "Previous leaders blackmailed the people of Darjeeling." It is now time to grow (the region). The Hill area need extensive development."

The GTA leader then followed Banerjee, state minister Aroop Biswas, and actor Saheb Chattopadhyay to the Darjeeling Coffee House launch, where the chief minister sang Rabindrasangeet. In a good mood, the CM stopped by a roadside vendor maintained by a women's self-help group on his way to the café. She created "phuchkas" (as 'paanipuri' is known in Bengal) and distributed them to the children who had come to see her.

"The key now is to sustain this triumph until the Lok Sabha election," a senior TMC leader remarked. We hope that the people of Darjeeling will be able to reap the benefits of growth in the coming two years. That might pay rewards in the general election."

However, the ruling party has a difficult challenge because the BJP has controlled the Darjeeling parliamentary constituency since 2009 and is a powerful force in the region. Darjeeling MP Raju Bista slammed the TMC, claiming that the GTA poll was a "inter-TMC fight" and a "forceful imposition of a body that nobody wants or wishes save the TMC and its henchmen." The BJP, together with the GJM led by Bimal Gurung, boycotted the election.

When asked if the results had opened a door for the TMC in the Hills and would benefit it in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Bista responded, "This outcome will help the TMC as much as it helped them when the GTA Agreement was signed after the first GTA Sabha was sworn in." They (TMC) managed the GTA Sabha through their proxy Board of Administrators from 2017 to 2021 after the GTA Sabha was sworn in again in 2013. TMC can construct a lovely picture and live in denial all it likes, but people in the region will never embrace the TMC."

Following years of struggle for an independent state of Gorkhaland, the GTA was established in 2012. It was formed as a result of the GTA Agreement signed in July 2011 by the state government, the Union government, and the GJM. The GJM, led by Gurung, easily won all of the seats in the first GTA elections in 2012. But things altered five years later, during a more than 100-day militant campaign for Gorkhaland. It splintered the GJM, drove Gurung to depart the Hills as he faced a slew of prosecutions, and prompted Thapa and GJM leader Binay Tamang, now the TMC's man in the Hills, to open talks with the ruling party.