Bharatiya Gorkha Janashakti (BGJ or BGJS; 'Indian Gorkha People's Power') is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

in the

Darjeeling District Darjeeling District is the northernmost district of the state of West Bengal in eastern India in the foothills of the Himalayas. The district is famous for its hill station and Darjeeling tea. Darjeeling is the district headquarters. Ku ...

of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n state of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

. BGJS was launched in 1998, anticipating the 1999 Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) elections. BGJS was part of the United Front launched by

Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CPRM) is a political party based in the Darjeeling District and Kalimpong District of the Indian state of West Bengal. CPRM was formed in 1996 by Communist Party of India (Marxist) dissidents (a major g ...

and

Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League ( ABGL) (also called All India Gorkha League (AIGL/IGL)) is a political party working amongst the Nepali-speaking Gorkha population in Darjeeling District and Kalimpong District of West Bengal, India. The party was ...

. BGJS demanded that the

Gorkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recruit ...

s should be included as

Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

(giving access to quotas and reservations) and that the area of DGHC should be reorganized. In 2003, BGJS was revived, anticipating the DGHC elections the following year which eventually was not held. The president of BGJS is C.R. Rai. In 2001, members of the

Gorkha National Liberation Front Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) is a political party in the Darjeeling District of West Bengal, India. It was formed in 1980 by Subhash Ghisingh with the objective of demanding a Gorkhaland state within India. Early history Part of the ...

supporting a

bandh Bandh (Devanagari: बंद) (literally: shutting down) is a form of protest used by political activists in South Asian countries such as India and Nepal. It is similar to a general strike. During a bandh, a political party or a community decl ...

stoned Rai's house and set two of his three cars on fire.

References

{{reflist Political parties in West Bengal Politics of Darjeeling district Political parties established in 1998 1998 establishments in West Bengal