Raju Bista hill BJP nominee... Swaraj Thapa resigned

VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, 25 March 2019, Darjeeling: The Gorkha National Liberation Front, which had teamed up with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's Bimal Gurung faction to back the BJP in the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, said on Sunday that Raju Bista, a Gorkha from Manipur, would be their candidate in the constituency.

Neeraj Zimba, the spokesman for the GNLF, said: "Raju Bista will be our candidate, he is also the choice of Narendra Modiji, Amit Shahji and their core team. They want him to work and focus on issues of Gorkhas all over India." However, the BJP hadn't yet officially announced the name till this report was filed.

Bista, 28, is the managing director of Surya Roshni Limited and is expected to reach Darjeeling on Monday, along with GNLF leader Mann Ghisingh.

"He (Bista) is a well known philanthropist," said Zimba.

The last date of filing nomination is Tuesday.

Observers believe the BJP has dropped sitting MP and minister S.S. Ahluwalia from the contest, gauging anger among people over his absence from the Darjeeling hills during the 104-day Gorkhaland agitation in 2017 and his alleged description of hill leaders as those from Nepal.

Photographs of Bista, along with GNLF leaders, Zimba, N.B. Chhetri, Y. Lama, and Morcha leaders Bimal Gurung, Roshan Giri and Lopsang Yolmo, are circulating on so- Trinamul's Darjeeling candidate Amar Singh Rai campaigns near Siliguri on Sunday. (Passang Yolmo) cial media. The authenticity of the pictures could not be confirmed immediately.

While many people in the Darjeeling hills have accepted that Bista is a "Gorkha", there were murmurs over not nominating a local candidate.

Swaraj Thapa, who was an advisor to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration during Gurung's tenure, announced his resignation from the Morcha through a Facebook post.

"I am doing so in strong protest against the idea of foisting a candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat who is a rank outsider, has little political background and absolutely no knowledge or interest about the issues regarding Darjeeling, including its core issue of Gorkhaland.".