Kolkata: The picturesque hill station of Darjeeling is bracing for another round of political turmoil as a power tussle between the two political friends turned rivals has reached a flashpoint.

While Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) is struggling to maintain its existence, West Bengal’s ruling party Trinamool Congress (TMC) is desperate to make its mark in the hills.

GJM has now called for a 12-hour strike on September 28, demanding details of Rs4 billion (Dh220 million) spent in hills over four years as claimed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

“The chief minister comes to Darjeeling very frequently and announces several projects for the people. Last week, she had announced that her government has given Rs4 billion to the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA). We want a detailed break-up of this money which according to the chief minister, has been given to the GTA. If the chief minister fails to give any break-up by September 27, we will go on strike,” GJM chief Bimal Gurung told Gulf News over phone.

The fact remains that Gurung is upset over Banerjee’s announcement for creating ethnic based development boards to curb the mass-base of GJM.

“We will also start Sherpa board, Tamang board, Drukpa board for the development of these communities. Here the work is done successfully by the boards. There is a caste review going on. After Pujas when I come here I will make more announcements,” Banerjee said last week, while reviewing the work of the Lepcha board.

There have been demands for separate boards raised by Bhujel, Newar communities as also other minorities in the hills like Muslims and Bengalis.

“If my party wins, they will have to work. If others win they will also have to deliver. But if anybody gets elected and then does not work for the people, that cannot be allowed,” she said in an oblique reference to the GJM, which she blames for lack of development in the region.

Despite a landslide victory throughout the state in assembly elections in May this year, TMC could not win any of the three seats in the region. Demographically, over 30 per cent of the population there is from Nepali speaking communities that practically determine the electoral fate for any party. This is the mass base of the GJM which has been demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland for over two decades.

“The recent announcement of the formation of Kalimpong district is a long pending demand and is a shot in the arm on Jan Andolan Party (JAP), which has been demanding it. As we know JAP leader Harka Bahadur Chetri is an associate of Mamata now. These careful announcements are further isolating the GJM. Hence, this strike call to show their presence,” said Shring a native of Darjeeling and student of political science now living in Kolkata.

“We will not tolerate any unlawfulness in Darjeeling. People of Bengal are opposed to strikes and life will be normal in the area,” said state tourism minister Gautam Deb, who hails from the region.

However, this political uprising has come at a worse time for the people of the hills as they were preparing for the upcoming festive holidays starting early next month. Tourism is the mainstay of livelihood for the people of the region.

“Hope this dies down soon as we do not want tourists to run away fearing a political clashes. Last time it happened, we faced lot of financial crunch and people were jobless,” said Sridhar Lepcha, a taxi driver in the hills.