BJP bags two of three Hill seats, one goes to Binoy camp

The Gurung camp of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha, which was being seen as a strong contender, failed to make its mark in the elections, with the party securing the third position in all the three Hill seats.

Neeraj Zimba

BP Sharma (Bajgain)

Ruden Sada Lepcha

REZA PRADHAN, SNS, DARJEELING, 2 MAY 21 : The BJP won two Assembly seats in the  Hills--Kurseong and Darjeeling-while the other one in Kalimpong went to the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (Binoy Tamang camp) after counting of votes today.

On the other hand, the Bimal Gurung camp of the Morcha, which was being seen as a strong contender, failed to make its mark in the elections, with the party securing the third position in all the three Hill seats.

In Kalimpong, the Morcha's (Tamang camp) won by a margin of around 3,870 votes, with its candidate Ruden Sada Lepcha bagging 58,206 votes in total, and the BJP candidate, Suva Pradhan, following in the second position with 54,336 votes. Morcha (Gurung camp) candidate RB Bhujel managed only 31856 votes.

The winning margin was 11,431 votes in the Assembly elections in 2016 in Kalimpong and the candidate of the undivided Morcha had defeated the Jan Andolan Party candidate.

In the Darjeeling Assembly seat, BJP candidate Neeraj Zimba won for the second time by bagging 68,907 votes and winning by a margin of 21,276 votes. Morcha (Tamang camp) candidate Keshav Raj Pokhrel bagged 47,631 votes, while the Morcha (Gurung camp) candidate PT Ola, managed to secure 38,240 votes. Mr Zimba had won the 2019 Darjeeling Assembly by-elections by a lead of about 46,285 votes against the Morcha (Tamang camp) candidate. The Morcha (Gurung camp) had also supported Mr Zimba then.

Thanking the people and political parties that supported him, Mr Zimba said, "This was a half-hearted win, with us not forming the government in the state. However, we will be a formidable opposition in the state Assembly with us more in number this time, which will pave the way for the state government to address some issues that are related to the state."

According to him, they would also pursue the issue of tribal status for Gorkha communities and permanent political solution for the region with the Centre.

Reacting to his loss, the Morcha's (Tamang camp) candidate, Mr Pokhrel said that even though they lost, they managed to win around 50,00 votes, which he said showed the faith people had on them. He said that they would continue to work for the people even though they lost.

In Kurscong, BJP candidate BP Bajgain won with a margin of 15,515 votes, securing 73,475 votes in total. The Morcha (Tamang camp) candidate, Tshering Dahal, secured 57,960 votes and the Morcha (Gurung camp) candidate Norbu G Lama bagged 33,094 votes.

The winning margin was about :33,726 votes in 2016 in Kurseong, with the undivided Morcha candidate defeating the TMC candidate.

Speaking about the loss in all the three Hill seats, Morcha leader Bimal Gurung said, "We had to go to the elections as soon as we came here after more than three years, and as such could not meet people at many places. Moreover, many people could have also mistaken that we were with the BJP and voted for them, as in the past we were with them."

This time around, along with the other camp of the Morcha, the Gurung faction was also in alliance with the TMC.

"I appeal to all my cadres not to lose hope as we have to work and make our party stronger,' Mr Gurung said.