CPRM waits for `good' candidate decision

SNS, Darjeeling, 20 MARCH 21 : The Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxist (CPRM), one of the alliance partners of the BJP for the upcoming Assembly elections, today said it would wait until 23 March for a "favourable decision" regarding the three I till Assembly constituencies.

The party added that it would field its own candidates if no such decision came from the alliance by them.

The CPRM has been demanding that the alliance panics of the BJP should get an equal share as far as candidates are concerned for the three scats and that they have to he chosen from the local alliance parties.

There are presently five local parties in alliance with the BJP, the CPRM being one of them, which in the 2019 Bidhan Sabha by-election of Darjeeling seat had in the last moment broken off ties with the constituent parties.

"We are still in alliance with the BJP but want that the candidates for the three I till seats he given from the local parties equally. We have helped them during the Lok Sabha elections and they should do the same. Talks are going on with the BJP and other alliance parties for it, but no concrete decision has come forth till now. We will wait till the 23rd of this month, and if nothing is decided by then, we will go ahead and field our own candidates in the three seats," CPRM spokesperson Gobind Chettri said here today.

While the BJP has already announced the names of candidates for almost all the constituencies across West Bengal, it is yet to name candidates for the Hill seats.

The BJP has presently five local parties in alliance for the Assembly elections with the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (Bimal Gurung camp) severing ties with them.

Among the alliance partners is the Gorkha National Liberation Front, which has also been stressing on candidates from the party.

During the 2019 Darjeeling Assembly by-elections, the MP had fielded a candidate in the form of GNLF leader Neeraj Zimba.

"We just want an equal share as far as seat-sharing is concerned. We will be happy if they give one CPRM candidate in any of the seats in the Hills," Mr Chettri said.