Gorkha leader Bimal Gurung withdraws support from NDA, to support Mamata in Bengal polls

Kolkata: Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) supremo Bimal Gurung, on the run following violent clashes over the demand for a separate state for Gorkhas, today surfaced unexpectedly and announced that he will be supporting Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee in next year's Assembly elections.

Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Gurung said, "We supported the BJP for 12 years but nothing happened to our demand despite their assurances of fulfilling our promise. Today I would like to announce that I am going to support Mamata Banerjee in the upcoming 2021 Assembly polls. I am not supporting the NDA anymore.”

Also Watch: Durga Puja 2020: Here’s why the festival won’t be the same this time around

Bimal Gurung, a leader of the statehood movement of the Gorkha community on Wednesdsay surfaced after a long time and proclaimed that he is "not a criminal" or an "anti-national".

Gurung, the chief of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha -- the organisation spearheading the Gorkhaland movement -- Bimal Gurung had gone underground in September 2017 after a policeman was killed in a clash with his supporters. He was the prime accused in the violent clashes that broke out over the demand for a separate state Gorkhaland around 3 years back.

West Bengal police had been on the lookout for the Gorkha leader and it was believed that he might have been hiding in neighbouring Nepal.

Readers like you make Inside Northeast’s work possible

To support our brand of fearless and investigative journalism, support us HERE.

Download:                                                                  

The Inside Northeast app HERE for News, Views, and Reviews from Northeast India.

Do keep following us for news on-the-go. We deliver the Northeast.