Bista lands for hill fight

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, 26 Mar 2019, Bagdogra: Raju Bista, the BJP candidate of Darjeeling Parliament seat, was welcomed by hundreds of people who had assembled at the airport as he arrived in Bagdogra on Monday afternoon.

Bista, however, also witnessed a glimpse of protest as some residents of Kurseong, suspected to be supporters of the Binay Tamang faction of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, wielded black flags as his cavalcade headed for Darjeeling town.

Bista, a Delhi-based entrepreneur who hails from Manipur, was seen smiling as he saw the assemblage of supporters of three parties, the BJP, the Bimal Gurung faction of Morcha and GNLF.

"My party will retain the seat as we have the support of two major political forces of the hills. We are confident of securing a higher margin than the last Parliament polls," said Bista, as he spoke with newspersons before heading for Darjeeling.

In 2014, BJP candidate S S Ahluwalia had won in Darjeeling by a margin of around two lakh votes. Asked about the demand of separate statehood ­ the principal demand of hills which had time and again found place in BJP's election manifesto ­ the BJP candidate did not came up with a direct reply.

"It is an old issue.... BJP is always is in favour of smaller state for better administration. However, I am not an appropriate person to make a decision on the subject. We can however, discuss on it in the future," he said. In and around the airport, around 1,000 people had gathered to welcome him. As Bista walked out of the terminal building, they greeted him with slogans while wielding the party flags.

Outside the airport, over 100 vehicles, which had brought these people, had lined up. As Bista's convoy rolled out with the GNLF leaders and also some leaders of the Gurung faction of Morcha, the vehicles moved behind and headed for the hills.

Leaders of Morcha and GNLF, who were there at the airport, were quick to assert that Bista is a Gorkha and is thus a "bhoomiputra" or son of the soil.

For past few weeks, the "bhoomi putra" issue has been time and again raised by political rivals of BJP, who have accused that BJP had fielded "outsiders" and had used the hill voters for its own interests.