Lok Sabha 2024: Tussle in BJP over Darjeeling seat
It seems a tussle is breaking out within the BJP over the Darjeeling seat for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The sitting MP, Raju Bista has had good support from both the local leaders and the people. But two others have apparently thrown their hats into the ring.
The name of one has been doing the rounds for the past few months—Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the former foreign secretary. He founded the Darjeeling Welfare Society (DWS) in May 2023. Many political observers believe DWS was founded with the blessings of the party’s higher-ups, to give him a base in the constituency.
Ever since, has been frequenting Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, meeting people. Though born in Mumbai, his parents hail from Darjeeling and he has apparently been using that fact, and the fact that he has relatives in the hill town, to portray himself as a son of the soil (or ‘bhumiputra’), and quietly drum up support.
Recently, his posters, too, have been seen—in Siliguri, written in Bengali and in Darjeeling, written in Nepali.
The other person is Bishnu Prasad Sharma, the party MLA from Kurseong, who has very recently staked his claim, also as a ‘bhumiputra’. Technically, he has the best claim—his family roots lie in the region while the sitting MP Raju Bista is a Gorkha but hails from Manipur and Shringla, though from the region, has never stayed there.
Sharma has been dismissive of the other two in the mix (till now) – Bista and Shringla – for not being real sons of the soil.
He has alleged that Bista is not working for the community and is only working for the interests of the party, and has vowed to fight as an Independent if not given the ticket.
About Shringla, when asked about his recent activities in the region, Sharma told a media publication that “just having a property [in the hills] is not enough. Even Mithun Chakraborty and Govinda have properties in the hills …. We need people who are from among us and are committed to our issues”.
Bista, for now, has the support of strong local BJP leaders like Shankar Ghosh, the Siliguri MLA and Anandamoy Barman, the Matigara-Naxalbari MLA, as well as substantial part of the population.
Bista has done worked hard for the development of the region, according to Ghosh, bringing central funds for the construction of four-lane highways, expansion of the Bagdogra Airport and development of New Jalpaiguri railway station, and ensuring the allocation of funds for drinking water projects in the hills and the plains (comprising Siliguri and the surrounding region) of the Darjeeling constituency.
Who gets the ticket ultimately, though, is in the hands of the party high command, according to a senior BJP functionary. After all, the party has had a hat-trick of victories since 2009, and all with different candidates—Jaswant Singh, SS Ahluwalia and Raju Bista, respectively.
