From Alliance to Tension: A Historical Timeline of BJP-GJM Politics in Darjeeling

The relationship between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has been one of the most defining and turbulent political partnerships in Darjeeling's modern history. Built on mutual interest, tested by agitation, broken and partially rebuilt, the alliance tells the story of how hill politics in North Bengal has evolved over two decades.

2007–2010: Birth of a Political Partnership

The GJM was founded by Bimal Gurung in 2007, breaking away from the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which had dominated Darjeeling hills politics since the 1980s. The new party quickly aligned with the BJP, finding common ground on the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

The arrangement suited both parties. For BJP, the GJM delivered the votes of the Nepali-speaking hill community, helping the party establish a foothold in West Bengal where it had almost no presence. For GJM, the alliance gave the hill movement a national platform and the hope that a BJP government at the Centre would eventually support the Gorkhaland statehood demand.

2011–2017: Alliance at Its Peak

Through the early 2010s, the BJP-GJM partnership remained largely stable. GJM flags flew on almost every household in the Darjeeling hills, and Bimal Gurung was the undisputed leader of the region.

The alliance delivered results. BJP's Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh, and later SS Ahluwalia, won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat riding on GJM's support. In return, BJP supported GJM's position at the Centre and helped keep pressure on the West Bengal government over hill autonomy.

July–September 2017: The Gorkhaland Agitation and the Break

Everything changed in 2017. A massive 105-day shutdown agitation for Gorkhaland rocked the Darjeeling hills. The protest, led by GJM, turned violent, leading to police crackdowns and multiple criminal cases against Gurung and other GJM leaders.

Gurung was forced to flee the hills and went underground. The agitation was eventually called off without achieving Gorkhaland statehood. The failure deeply damaged Gurung's political standing, and GJM's flags, which had once fluttered on every home, began to disappear from the hillsides.

2019: BJP Steps Into the Breach

With GJM weakened, BJP stepped in to fill the political vacuum in the hills. The party actively mobilized Gorkha voters on its own, and BJP's Raju Bista won the 2019 Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat in a commanding victory, backed by GNLF support rather than GJM.

Meanwhile, TMC had backed Benoy Tamang as the new GTA chief, creating a rival Gorkha political force aligned with Mamata Banerjee's government. Gurung was still in hiding and facing multiple legal cases.

October 2020: Gurung Defects to TMC

In a dramatic political move, Bimal Gurung publicly switched sides in October 2020, announcing he would no longer support the BJP and would instead back the Trinamool Congress in the upcoming state elections. He cited BJP's failure to deliver on the Gorkhaland promise as the key reason.

The move shocked hill politics. For over a decade the BJP-GJM alliance had been the defining political force in Darjeeling. Analysts said the loss of GJM would hurt BJP in the hills, though BJP countered that it had by then built enough independent ground support.

April 2021: Mixed Verdict in State Elections

The 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections delivered a split verdict in the Darjeeling hills. BJP retained the Darjeeling and Kurseong seats but lost Kalimpong to Anit Thapa's Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), which was aligned with TMC.

The result showed that no single party could any longer claim total dominance in the hills. The Gorkha vote was now split across BJP, TMC allies, and independent hill parties.

2022: GTA Election Boycott — Old Allies on Same Side Again

In a curious twist, both BJP and GJM boycotted the June 2022 GTA elections while being on opposite sides politically. BJP called the GTA an "unconstitutional body," while GJM accused the West Bengal government of controlling what was supposed to be an autonomous hill body.

The shared boycott briefly put the two estranged allies on common ground, hinting at the possibility of realignment.

Early 2026: Gurung Acknowledges Political Weakness

By early 2026, Gurung publicly acknowledged his weakened position. Speaking to reporters in February, he admitted his political standing had declined and blamed both TMC and BJP for his situation. "We have seen both the TMC and the BJP and we have been reduced to this state," he said, without committing to either party ahead of upcoming Assembly polls.

March 2026: BJP Drops GNLF, Backs GJM Youth Leader

In a significant shift, BJP dropped its decade-long ally GNLF for the 2026 Assembly elections after the Election Commission delisted the GNLF as a registered unrecognised political party in September 2025. The party then nominated Noman Rai, president of GJM's youth wing, as its candidate for the Darjeeling constituency — effectively returning to a GJM alignment.

The move signalled that BJP was once again willing to work with GJM at a local level, even if the broader relationship with Gurung remained complicated.

June 2026: Alliance Tensions Resurface

The latest chapter came on June 15, 2026, when BJP district hill president Sanjeev Lama publicly warned that Gurung would be "nowhere" without BJP's support, calling out the GJM chief's attitude and questioning his pride.

The remarks came just days before West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's first scheduled visit to the Darjeeling hills. Political observers say the timing suggests BJP is recalibrating its hill strategy and no longer considers Gurung an indispensable ally.

What the Timeline Reveals

The BJP-GJM story is ultimately about mutual dependence with no mutual trust. BJP needed GJM to win the hills; GJM needed BJP to keep the Gorkhaland dream alive at the Centre. When either party felt it no longer needed the other, the alliance frayed.

What has changed in 2026 is that BJP appears more confident of winning the hills on its own, while Gurung's GJM is no longer the dominant force it once was. The balance of power has shifted decisively in BJP's favor — and the recent public jibe from Lama is the clearest sign yet that BJP no longer feels the need to handle Gurung with care.

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