The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
In 3-corner Darjeeling fight, BJP touches on Gorkhaland, but just
DURING THE 104-day shutdown in Darjeeling in 2017, Pashan Rai was among the thousands who supported the Gorkhaland statehood demand led by the Gorkha Jan mu k tim or ch a(gjm ). with the GJM supporting the BJP now, Rai, a taxi driver, feels the community’s demands may be heard.
“The BJP did not do any work for 10 years after 2009. But in the last five years, (incumbent Darjeeling MP) Raju Bista has done a lot. TheGJM is also supporting thebjp, which we wanted. Therefore, he should be given another chance to fulfil the promises,” said the 32-year-old.
This year, Darjeeling is set to witnessathree-corneredcontest. Regional parties that play a key role in shaping public opinion on the national parties’ candidates have already taken sides.
Thegjm led by bi mal gu rung, the face of the 2017 agitation, has extended support to the BJP. A GJM faction called the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), however, has been with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) since the 2021 Assembly polls.
The BJP has been winning Darjeeling since 2009 while the TMC has never won. Unlike in 2009 and 2014, 2019 winner Raju Bista has been fielded again.
“The state government has done nothing for Darjeeling. The Central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to developing the region,”
said Bista, who belongs to the Gorkha community.
Although the BJP manifesto does not mention the gork hal and issue or the inclusion of 11 gork ha sub-tribes in the scheduled tribes (ST) category, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was scheduled to hold a rally in Darjeeling on Sunday but could not attend due to bad weather, addressedthe demands in a call with Bista. “The BJP is with you in your fight to get justice ... We are consideringincluding 11 gorkhasubt rib es int he ST list ,” Shah said.
The Gorkhaland sentiment still runs deep here. Three of the seven Assembly segments of the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat have a majority of Gorkha voters who generally vote en masse for the same candidate. In the 2021 Assembly polls, the BJP won five of these segments.
The BGPM, which won the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration polls in 2022, has thrown its weight behind the TMC’S candidate Gopal Lama. “The state government has done a lot of development. The BJP, despitewinning these at since 2009, has done nothing,” Lama said.