CHOICE SUGGESTS SHIFT IN BJP'S FOCUS AREAS Modi's venue far from hills

AVIJIT SINHA, TT, 1 February 2019, Siliguri: The state BJP leadership has decided to organise a public meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 8 at a venue around 150km away from Darjeeling town and 70km from Siliguri -- its primary stronghold during the past 10 years in the region.

BJP state secretary Raju Banerjee told a news conference in Jalpaiguri on Thursday that Modi would speak at the meeting that would be held at Churabhandar, a hamlet off NH27 in Maynaguri block of the district. "We have visited the location and have finalised it…," he said.

Unlike 2009 and 2014, when in north Bengal, the BJP had primarily focused Narendra Modi. (PTI) on the Darjeeling hills and could win the Darjeeling Parliament seat twice with support of the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the party is shifting its focus to some other seats of north Bengal for a number of reasons, observers said.

According to them, BJP leaders seem to have perceived that Darjeeling is no longer a safe seat for the party, particularly after the change in the leadership and stand of the Morcha. The reins are in the hands of Binay Tamang who has asserted that the Morcha will not back the BJP.

"On one hand, its support base has withered in the hills. On the other hand, the party has plans to try and win seats in some other parts of Bengal. In such a situation, if it tries to put fresh impetus on the Darjeeling seat, Trinamul will take no time to point out the BJP's assurance that it would look into the statehood demand," said an observer.