Mamata invites Shinde at GTA swearing ceremony.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata made a request to newly appointed Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to attend the swearing in ceremony of new elected members of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) on August 4. In this regard Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh told reporters that Shinde has accepted the invitation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and he would be present to grace the occasion.

There are a total 45 seats in the GTA, 28 of which have been won uncontested by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), the dominant political force in the Darjeeling hill areas. Voting to fill up 17 seats in the newly-formed GTA in Darjeeling hills was held on July 29. The agreement for Gorkhaland Territorial Administration was signed in the presence of the then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Mamata Banerjee and GJM president Bimal Gurung.