As Gorkhaland sentiment persists, BJP looks to continue Darjeeling winning streak

During the 104-day shutdown in the Darjeeling Hills in 2017, Pashan Rai was among the thousands who supported the separate Gorkhaland state demand spearheaded by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). With the GJM supporting the BJP this time, Rai, a taxi driver, feels the community’s demands may be heard now.

“The BJP did not do any work for 10 years after 2009. But in the last five years, (incumbent Darjeeling MP) Raju Bista has done a lot of work. The GJM is also supporting the BJP, which we wanted. Therefore, he should be given another chance to fulfil the promises,” said the 32-year-old.

The Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency in north Bengal, which goes to polls in the second phase on April 26, is set to witness a three-cornered contest. Regional parties that play a key role in shaping public opinion on the national parties’ candidates have already taken sides.

The GJM led by Bimal Gurung, the face of the 2017 agitation, extended support to the BJP earlier this month. A GJM faction called the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), however, has been with the state’s ruling party Trinamool Congress (TMC) since the 2021 Assembly polls.

The BJP has been winning Darjeeling since 2009 while the TMC has never won the constituency. While Jaswant Singh and S S Ahluwalia, who won in 2009 and 2014, respectively, weren’t fielded again, 2019 winner Raju Bista, who won by more than four lakh votes, is in the fray again this time.

“The state government has done nothing for Darjeeling and exploited people. The Central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to developing the region. People will once again vote for development,” said Bista who unlike the previous BJP MPs is from the Gorkha community.

Although the BJP