Fifteen years after quitting the Sikkim Democratic Front in 2009, he decimated Chamling's party, scripting history by winning 31 of 32 assembly seats in the Himalayan state in 2024.
Fears of 'Darjeeling Tea' losing its charm have been growing for quite sometime now. Another factor added to the worries of 'Darjeeling Tea' producers was the plantations' heavy dependence on fertilisers and pesticides that were being hawked by foreign corporations. In the recent days, there is a wind of optimism blowing through the Darjeeling hills, and a growing sense that Darjeeling Tea is on its way to reclaiming its legendary status.
Gorkhaland supporters torched a police outpost, a toytrain station and clashed with the police at two places.
Factor added to the worries of 'Darjeeling Tea' producers was the plantations' heavy dependence on fertilisers and pesticides that were being hawked by foreign corporations.
The Army was kept on stand-by as violence erupted in Darjeeling Hills after ruling GNLF leader K G Gurung was grievously injured in an alleged attack by rival GJMM activists on Friday.
The encounter took place when the troops of Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group of J&K Police launched a joint cordon and search operation at Dhari Gote Urarbagi in Desa forest belt, some 55 km from Doda town, late Monday evening, the officials said.
Shoma A Chatterjee offers a sneak preview of Via Darjeeling, a Hindi film shot against the intriguing landscape of this hill city.
Chances of it being a mix of a small quantity of 'Darjeeling Tea' and blends made from inferior tea from other regions are very high.
The party also doubted "there is no way of knowing with certainty as to whether these weapons were indeed recovered during the search or whether they were surreptitiously planted by the CBI or NSG".
The station master of Ranipatra, following the railway operation norms, issued the authority letter T/A 912 to all train drivers to pass through defective signals.
Normal life in the three hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling district was paralysed on Tuesday as the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha enforced a second spell of indefinite bandh in the area, to press for its demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.Shops, markets, business establishments, banks and post offices were closed and vehicles remained off the roads after the bandh resumed from 6 pm on Monday after a five-day break.
The search operation was on to recover more missing persons by the army, the NDRF, the Sashastra Seema Bal and other rescue teams.
Read on to find out if your favourite destination made it to the list!
A 96-hour bandh called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on Monday to press for Gorkhaland in the Darjeeling hills has been withdrawn.GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told PTI from Delhi that the decision was taken after senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley urged that the shutdown be called off for a normal situation to prevail before the tripartite talks begin in Darjeeling on December 21.However, the indefinite fast will continue.
'These include economic prosperity, a promising future for youth, empowerment for women, a thriving society, robust healthcare, quality education, elevated living standards, agricultural prosperity, and robust social security coupled with effective governance.'
A Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporter attempted self-immolation in Darjeeling as the indefinite bandh by the GJM for a separate Gorkhaland entered the sixth day on Thursday, even as the West Bengal government said it would follow court orders strictly to maintain normalcy.
The tea industry's cup of woes brimmeth - scanty rainfall and pest attacks have dragged down production in May, prices are lower than last year, and demand from some export markets is muted. Production in North Bengal - comprising the Dooars, Terai, and Darjeeling - is majorly affected; parts of Assam are also hit. Arijit Raha, secretary general, Indian Tea Association (ITA), said that the Tea Board numbers for April show a crop loss of about 9 per cent for North Bengal, compared to last year.
The BJP's top leadership will drop its MPs found to be facing anti-incumbency, according to its internal surveys -- a pivotal tactic to ensure the party achieves its target of winning 370 seats.
Observing that law and order was a "state subject", a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra stayed the Calcutta high court order restraining the Centre from relocating the paramilitary forces from the state's strife-torn districts and asked the state government to respond to the Centre's appeal within a week.
This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season.
A home guard was set on fire in Darjeeling town on Friday where incidents of arson were reported on the eve of the indefinite bandh called in the hills to demand a separate state of Gorkhaland on the lines of Telangana.
Over ten Gorkha Janmukti supporters were arrested when they burnt a motorcycle and a car at Rambi on the National Highway near, as a three-day bandh demanding Gorkhaland began in the Darjeeling hills in West Bengal on Monday.
Senior police officials said they received a complaint and are looking into it.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday expressed confidence in the unity of the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in combating injustice nationwide, a day after Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee's decision to go solo in the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal.
According to the GJM leaders, the breather was given from 6 pm on Sunday following requests of some Union ministers to enable school students to finish their term before summer vacations begin from June 25.
The historic tripartite agreement for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) was on Monday signed to resolve the vexed Darjeeling problem amidst protests and bandhs in the Terai and Dooars areas.
Ahead of this election, the alliance between the BJP and the SKM had broken down. One reason is the fear that like Article 370, Article 371F might also be changed.
Normal life in Darjeeling Hills was paralysed for the second day today due to the indefinite bandh called by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) in support of their demand for a separate Gorkhaland.
District Magistrate Rajesh Pandey said 283 birds were reported to have died in and around Sukna area between April 27 and May 4 following which samples were sent to High Security Diseases Laboratory in Bhopal, which confirmed the outbreak of avian flu.
The abusers probably mistook the students with mongoloid features for nationals of China from where novel coronavirus had spread worldwide.
The MHA asked all state governments to set up a committee for examining requirements of central armed police forces by keeping in view the internal security, intelligence inputs and availability of central forces in nearby locations.
Normal life was hit for the third day in Darjeeling Hills on Friday in response to the indefinite bandh called by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha to protest police firing at Sipchu in Jalpaiguri district that left two persons dead.
He started with Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou four years ago. Now, he returns to Anderson's cinema in a small but important role as a stern train steward in The Darjeeling Limited.
Amid the rhythmic chug of the train, a chorus of voices rises, each bearing its tale of hope and despair.
While asking the Centre to set up the delimitation panel, the top court, however, said it cannot direct Parliament to amend or make laws for giving proper representation to other communities that form part of the STs as that would amount to "venturing into the legislative domain".
Life came to a standstill in all three sub-divisions of Darjeeling district on Monday due to Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's indefinite bandh called to press for a separate state and other demands.
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