Anit Thapa's Mysterious Disappearance and Public Return: A Hillside Political Enigma

The president of Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha and head of the GTA, Anit Thapa, revealed his family vacation to south India on Sunday after remaining hidden from the public for five days.

Following Christmas, Thapa did not appear in public, leading to rumors that he was away in Calcutta or Delhi manipulating political equations.

According to sources, the rumors weren't shocking at a moment when the hills are seeing fresh combinations and permutations in preparation for the next Lok Sabha elections.

Thapa wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday, saying, "I have traveled to Puttaparthi with my family for a few days." Nine photos, some of which featured his family, were included with the message.

Andhra Pradesh's Puttaparthi is well known for being the birthplace of Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian spiritual leader and guru, as well as his ashram, Prasanthi Nilayam. During the winter, when hill schools are closed for three months, a significant number of his devotees from the Darjeeling, Sikkim region, travel to this location.

"2023, a year of accomplishment, has come to an end, and for that, I am grateful to Sai. In addition, I have prayed for 2024 to be a year of love and peace for the hills," Thapa said.

Thapa was seen by the public until Christmas.

"On December 22 and 24, he spoke at the party's open meeting at Mirik and went to Darjeeling to attend the Darjeeling Hill Marathon and MELOtea fest." According to a source, he also celebrated Christmas at an elderly residence in Takdah.

Following his disappearance from the public eye, conjecture intensified. Recently, there have even been discussions about his whereabouts among the leaders of his party. Only after the information was made public today (Sunday) was his presence at Puttaparthi extensively disseminated in the party's WhatsApp group, according to a BGPM source.

The curiosity about Thapa's disappearance from the public eye coincides with the emergence of new equations in the hills.

Mahendra Chhetri, the leader of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), was suspended on Saturday for meeting Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, in Delhi on December 26. The BJP ally party asserted that it was unaware of Chhetri's meeting with Rahul.

Rahul also met Ajoy Edwards, the president of the Hamro Party, on the same day. Munish Tamang, the president of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh, an apolitical organization of Indian Gorkhas, did the same.

Thapa is an ally of Trinamul, which, along with Congress, is a member of the anti-BJP bloc in India. But Thapa is not friendly with Binay Tamang, the Congress representative for the hills.

"Against this background, there was much talk about Thapa's absence. His choice to share family photos on Sunday was likewise peculiar. According to a bystander in the hills, "He was presumably attempting to confirm in front of the public that he was only on a family vacation."

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