Lok Sabha polls: TMC to release manifesto in 5 languages, including Santali Oi Chiki, Nepali

New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress is set to release its manifesto in five languages this time for the Lok Sabha elections, including the Santal language 'Oi Chiki', and Nepalese, sources said.

The TMC, which is in power in West Bengal and at present the fourth largest party in Lok Sabha after the ruling BJP, Congress, and DMK, is in a three-cornered fight in the state against the BJP, and the Left-Congress alliance.

Sources said the party's manifesto this time will be released in Oi Chiki, which is the script for the Santali language, as well as Nepalese, besides Hindi, English, Bengali and Urdu.

In West Bengal, 5.5 per cent of the total population is tribal. Among them nearly 51.8 per cent are Santals.

More than half of the total ST population of the state is concentrated in southern districts of Medinipur, Purulia, and Bardhaman and Jalpaiguri in north. Bankura, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur districts also have sizable ST population.

The state also has a significant number of Gorkhas, who dominate the Darjeeling district.

As per the 2011 Census, there were a total of 1,161,807 speakers of various Nepali languages in West Bengal. Gorkhas constitute 46 per cent of population in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and around seven per cent in Jalpaiguri.

Darjeeling has witnessed bouts of violence since the '80s over the demand for a separate state of 'Gorkhaland'. The most recent one happened in 2017 and lasted 104 days, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

TMC has never won the Darjeeling seat, which was with the CPI(M) till 2004, and with Congress between 2004 and 2009. It has been with the BJP ever since.

While Jaswant Singh won the seat in 2009, SS Ahluwalia won it in 2014, and Raju Bista, who is the sitting MP and BJP's candidate from the seat, won it in 2019.

The TMC's manifesto is likely to be released on Tuesday or Wednesday, said the source.