Darjeeling goes to the polls today K

The picturesque Darjeeling, often referred to as the queen of the hills and known for its tea, timber and tourism industries, is up for a four-cornered contest

'PTI, KOLKATA, APRIL 25, 2024 : Amidst a new political alignment, Darjeeling hills are gearing up for another election as the long-pending demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland gains focus, with electoral fortunes hinging on promises of a political solution to the demand.

The Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, bordering Nepal, also houses the strategically important Chicken’s Neck or Siliguri corridor connecting the northeastern states with mainland India.

The picturesque Darjeeling, often referred to as the queen of the hills and known for its tea, timber and tourism industries, is up for a four-cornered contest. 

Sitting BJP MP Raju Bista is contesting against party MLA from Kurseong, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, who is running as an independent after his demand to field a "Bhumiputra" was not accepted by the BJP leadership.

Bista, supported by the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) and the Bimal Gurung faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), aims for a second term.

Bista is an exception who has been repeated as the BJP candidate from the hills, as its previous MPs Jaswant Singh and S S Ahluwalia in2009 and 2014 had only a single tenure. Unlike previous elections when the BJP with the support of GJM had a free run in the hills, Bista is up against formidable opposition as Congress, which has joined hands with the Hamro Party, has fielded Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh’s Munish Tamang, who is also supported by the CPI(M). 

The Trinamool Congress has nominated Gopal Lama, supported by Anit Thapa’s Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM),which controls the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).Bista won the seat in 2019 by a margin of 4.5 lakh votes. 

With the Lok Sabha polls approaching, the issue of a permanent political solution (PPS)has gained momentum. BJP promises a permanent political solution within the next five years.

The Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which switched alliances from the TMC, issued a 'final ultimatum' to the saffron camp, demanding are solution to the hill problem as a pre-condition for their support in the elections.