Morcha can be the only ally in the state: BJP

TT, Raiganj, Feb. 8: The BJP state president, Dilip Ghosh, today said the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha could be the party's only ally for the Assembly polls.

"We had allied with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the 2014 Parliament polls. Now that the Assembly polls are coming, our only ally in the state can be the Morcha. There is no question of allying with any other party. We want the Morcha leadership to unequivocally assert its decision that they are with us as an ally. If, due to some reason, no such alliance is forged, the BJP will field its own candidates in all 294 Assembly seats," Ghosh told reporters here this afternoon.

It is the first time that the state BJP leadership has made such a remark and sought clarity on the Morcha's stand.

Asked about the development, Morcha president Bimal Gurung who was in Jalpaiguri's Sibchu today, did not give out much details. "We are with the BJP," was all he said.

Morcha sources said the party's prospective allies include the Kamtapur Progressive Party's Atul Roy faction, the John Barla faction of Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad and the Dooars Millat-e-Islamia. Insiders in the BJP said the party had no reservations against such an alliance.

BJP sources said Ghosh's comment came after the recent remarks of Gurung and state CPM secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra. On January 25, Gurung had said in Sukna: "There may be an alliance with the Congress or CPM but we will never tie up with Trinamul. The same day, Mishra had said in Siliguri that the Morcha should join the CPM to oust Trinamul but it "will have to snap ties with the BJP. Like we want Trinamul to be removed from power in the state, we want the BJP to be dislodged from the Centre," he had said.

Asked about Mishra's remarks, Gurung said: "Let the CPM-Congress form the alliance. Then only we can think..."

An observer said it was unlikely that the Morcha would snap ties with the BJP. "If Morcha stays with the BJP, the leaders can claim that the party at the Centre has promised to consider their demand ..."