Sensing BJP’s failure to deliver, Congress making its presence felt in Darjeeling

Planning to talk to regional hill parties for electoral understanding 

YOWAN MOTHAY, EOI, KALIMPONG,NOVEMBER 25, 2023 : With the Lok Sabha elections approaching, Congress is trying to recover the lost ground in the hills. For the first time in many years, people are talking about Congress; having realized that the BJP has failed to fulfil its commitment to the people of the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong despite winning the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat three times in a row. 

The AICC has started working towards strengthening its organizational structure in the hills of Darjeeling. West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will arrive in Kalimpong Sunday to attend a WBPCC convention at Town Hall, Kalimpong. Congress leader Basir Ahmed said Dawa Narbula had last won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat for Congress in 2004 by a large margin but since then Congress had weakened somewhat in the hills. 

But Congress was not dead, he emphasized, and the conference was being organized to show the organizational strength of the grand old party of India. AICC member Surendra Pareek said even after serving for 15 years the BJP had not fulfilled the aspirations of the people of Darjeeling. 

He was hopeful people of the region would support Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the dream of the Gorkhas was his dream, Darjeeling M.P. Raju Bista had promised a permanent political solution; but nothing had happened till date. 

Whatever the hills had got were during the earlier /congress regime, be it recognition of the Nepali language, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council or the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. In the coming days, if a Congress government was formed in the country, it would do good things for the people of Darjeeling. 

People of Darjeeling had helped the BJP by giving them political support but now the people of the hills had understood the tricks of the BJP. He said the Congress was also planning to talk to the regional parties in the hills for an understanding before the Lok Sabha elections. 

Hamro Party president Ajoy Edwards had recently said whatever the hills had got were during the Congress regime. 

Other regional parties were of the same view. Congress should have a Nepali-speaking ‘Bhumiputra’ as candidate for the Darjeeling seat in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, he said.