Ajay Edwards, an independent candidate aiming for the Darjeeling seat.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The posters demanding the separate State of Gorkhaland have faded on the walls of Darjeeling town. It has been nine years since the region witnessed the last violent movement for a separate State of Gorkhaland in 2017, when the region was cut off from the rest of the country for 100 days and almost a dozen lives were lost.

From the single political agenda of Gorkhaland, the politics of the Darjeeling hills have shifted over the past few years. On March 27, 2026, like different parts of West Bengal, the Darjeeling hills witnessed a huge procession on the occasion of Ram Navami. The procession, with hundreds of people waving Hindutva flags, travelled in the heart of Darjeeling town.

Published – April 18, 2026 10:04 pm IST