Voter list row: BGPM to launch protest in Hills after President's visit
Times of India | 6 March 2026
Darjeeling: A day after posters appeared at Darjeeling's Chowk Bazar targeting the BJP over the deletion of names in the final electoral rolls, Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) president and GTA chief Anit Thapa on Friday termed Feb 28 a "black day" for the Gorkha community.
Thapa, whose party is a Trinamool ally, said the BGPM would launch a strong protest in the Hills after the President's visit to Darjeeling. "We supported the BJP for 20 years. They could not give us Gorkhaland — that was acceptable. They could not grant Scheduled Tribe status — that too we tolerated. But now they are trying to erase our community itself," Thapa said while addressing a party workers' meeting in Rangbul.
"If we lose our citizenship, what is the meaning of Gorkhaland? Our community is facing injustice and there is a conspiracy to make us landless. The issue is about the security and identity of the Gorkha people," he added.
Thapa also rejected attempts by BJP MP Raju Bista to blame booth level officers (BLOs) for the deletions. "No BLO from our community would remove the names of people from their own community. The power to delete names lies with the software; it is the system that is removing the names," he said.
"We will welcome the President when she arrives on Friday, but after she leaves, we will begin our protests. This is a far more serious issue than elections," Thapa said.
The district had 12,92,857 voters as of Oct 27, 2025, but after the SIR exercise, the number dropped to 11,48,209.