Push for Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra meeting near Siliguri, Darjeeling leaders seek two Lok Sabha seats for contest

Congress is a constituent of the national anti-BJP bloc INDIA, of which the Trinamul Congress is also a part

Rahul Gandhi.: PTI file picture

TT Correspondent, Siliguri, 11.01.24 : The Darjeeling district committee of the Congress has proposed to the national leadership Rahul Gandhi's public meeting near Siliguri during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and the party's contest from Darjeeling and Raiganj Lok Sabha seats.

Sankar Malakar, the Darjeeling district Congress president, said the yatra that is scheduled to start from the Northeast would enter Cooch Behar later this month and was likely to reach Siliguri on January 27 after hitting places like Mainaguri, Dhupguri, Falakata and Jalpaiguri.

“From here, Rahul Gandhi will enter Bihar through the Siliguri subdivision. We have urged the central leadership to hold a public meeting at a place like Kawakhali (a locality on the southern outskirts of the city) as part of the yatra,” said Malakar.

He held a meeting with some Congress leaders, including Binay Tamang, on Wednesday. Tamang, a prominent face in the Darjeeling hill politics, recently joined the Congress and was made a state general secretary of the party. He has also been assigned the task of looking after the party's affairs in the hills.

Congress insiders said although the plan was to take the yatra to Bihar from Siliguri, they had requested the central leadership to take an alternative route to Bihar via Chopra and Islampur which are in the North Dinajpur district.

“We have told the party leadership that the Congress should field candidates in the Darjeeling and Raiganj Lok Sabha seats where the party has prospects. That is why we want Rahul Gandhi to cover a portion of North Dinajpur district, along with the Siliguri subdivision, during the yatra,” said a Congress insider.

The Congress is a constituent of the national anti-BJP bloc INDIA, of which the Trinamul Congress is also a part.

“As of now, Trinamul, at best, is ready to offer three seats to the Congress in Bengal, including Malda South and Berhampore where the Congress had won in 2019. But the Congress wants to contest more seats. It is not very clear whether there will eventually be any adjustment of seats between the two parties in Bengal,” said a political observer.

A senior Congress functionary said residents of the hills were fed up with the BJP.

"They have voted for the BJP thrice since 2009 and yet, none of their demands have been met. “The Congress, on the other hand, had met their demands earlier. It was during the Congress rule that the DGHC (Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council) and the GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) were formed. This time, we believe, the party has good chances,” he said.

In Raiganj, which had been the home ground of Congress leader Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, the party has equal chances, said leaders. His wife Deepa Das Munshi had also won from the seat.

Congress leaders said in the recent Assembly elections, Deepa Das Munshi’s role in Telangana, where the party had come to power, had been appreciated. Deepa, who was put in the observer’s post ahead of the Assembly polls in Telangana, strived to ensure the party's win.

After the results, she was made the Telangana in-charge of the AICC last month.

“We believe if she contests the polls, we can regain the Raiganj seat,” said a senior Congress leader in Raiganj.