BJP tries to handle A'duar candidate pick anger '

SNS, ALIPURDUAR, 17 MARCH 21 : State General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party Sayantan Basu today tried to calm frayed nerves in the Alipurduar district camp of the party. Some party leaders in Alipurduar are not very happy with the selection of candidates who would contest the upcoming Assembly elections in the district.

It is learnt that on receiving news of Mr Basu's arrival, a section of BJP activists from the Kalchini block rushed to the BJP's Alipurduar district office in Alipurduar town today.

"After that, Mr Basu, along with other district leaders of the BJP left the party office and went to a three-storey building beside the party office. They had a closed-door meeting there," a source said.

The BJP workers who came from Kalchini started demonstrating at the entrance of the building. They shouted slogans and demanded that the party change the candidate for the Kalchini Assembly seat. They held placards in the hand with the same demand.

After the demonstration ended, Mr Basu, along with other district leaders, came down from the building and announced that no candidate in Alipurduar district be changed.

"There is no question of changing the candidates. They have been declared by the party for Alipurduar district. All workers must work tow in all the seats in the district. We discussed everything in the meeting " said Mr Basu.

"We did not see any demonstration. I do not know whether there were demonstrations or protests over the selection of our candidates," he added, when reporters asked him questions.

Notably, a section of BJP workers are not happy at the selection of Bishal Lama as the BJP candidate for the Kalchini Assembly constituency. Mr Lama had only recently switched sides to the BJP from the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha.

"Everything is settled. We are soldiers of a regimented party. We will win all the five seats in Alipurduar district," said Ganga Prasad Sharma, the district president of the BJP after the meeting.

"Some of our workers had different opinions regarding Bishal Lama who recently joined our party. But keeping everything aside, we all have to work to make him win," Mr Sharma added.

It may be mentioned here that Mr Sharma had openly expressed his reservations at the selection of some election candidates for the district, while he changed his stance the next day and said they would work together for the elections.