The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), which technically still controls the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and the majority of the hill panchayats, is grappling with a wave of resignations even as party president Anit Thapa is stressing “regionalism” to stop the flow.

On Friday, six panchayat samity members of Sukhiapokhri block resigned from the BGPM. On Thursday, S.P. Sharma, the chief public relations officer of the GTA, also quit his post. His was a political appointment.

Sharma hasn’t, however, resigned from the BGPM.

In the past few weeks, many gram panchayat members and leaders have left the BGPM.

Most of the members are expected to join the BJP, which, until the Assembly election results, did not have a strong organisational network in the hills.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the Gorkha National Liberation Front had supported the BJP in the three hill seats of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong in the Assembly polls. In fact, Morcha youth president Noman Rai contested the Darjeeling seat on a BJP ticket and won.

“Most of the gram panchayat members who have resigned are looking to join the BJP. A no-confidence motion against some BGPM-controlled gram panchayats is also on the cards in the next few weeks,” said a political observer from Darjeeling.

In the hills, the party that controls the GTA is known to control hill politics. Sharma, while resigning from the GTA post, told local media that elected members of the GTA were not being given due importance by the current BJP state government.

Recently, Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista convened a review meeting of the GTA and district administration without inviting 43 elected GTA Sabha members. Bengal’s urban development and municipal affairs department minister Agnimitra Paul, on a recent visit to Darjeeling, did not invite the elected GTA leaders to a meeting.

The BJP leaders have already decried the GTA and promised a new administrative setup.

With the BJP gaining momentum, Thapa has started stressing regionalism once again.

“We have been working to safeguard regionalism and in the days to come, our politics will be to keep regionalism alive,” said Thapa.