Allies, leaders question BJP’s candidate selection in Hills

REZA PRADHAN

DARJEELING, : A section of the BJP in the Hills, along with some of its alliance partners, has expressed dissatisfaction over the announcement of party candidates, alleging they were excluded from the decision-making process.

Following the announcement of candidates for the three Hill Assembly seats on Thursday, some BJP leaders even threatened a “mass resignation,” giving the party a 24-hour deadline to reconsider its decision.

BJP leader Manoj Dewan said, “The leaders and cadres of the BJP are not happy with the announcement of candidates from the Hills, as it appears to have been done solely on the decision of Darjeeling MP Raju Bista. No consultation was held with different party units here while choosing the candidates. Everyone’s opinion should have been taken.”

Dewan, a former president of the BJP Darjeeling District (Hills), said there were several senior leaders within the party who felt sidelined by the announced names.

“Our colleagues maintain that if the party does not withdraw its decision within 24 hours and reconsider, the entire cadre could resign from the party,” added Dewan, who is currently a State committee member.

For the Kalimpong Assembly constituency, the BJP has named Bharat Chettri, a sports personality with no prior political affiliation. For Darjeeling, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha youth leader Noman Rai has been fielded, while BJP leader Sonam Lama will contest from Kurseong.

Reacting to the developments, Darjeeling district BJP president Sanjeev Lama said, “There are only three seats in the Hills, but many of our leaders had expressed interest in contesting this time, which was unfortunately not possible. Moreover, we have alliance partners to consider. I request everyone to understand our limitations.”

On the threat of mass resignation, he said such statements were being made by leaders who had not received tickets, but expressed hope that “better sense would prevail.” He also denied allegations that the candidate list had been prepared solely by Bista. On alliances, he added that they extended beyond elections and were aimed at working for the welfare of the Gorkha community.

Alliance partners such as the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) and the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxist (CPRM) also voiced displeasure over the BJP’s candidate list.

GNLF leader Y. Lama said, “It is the prerogative of the BJP to announce its candidates, but the sitting MLA, GNLF leader Neeraj Zimba, should have been the choice as he has won twice from the Darjeeling seat. While the BJP is an independent party and can take its own decisions, we feel it should honour its commitments to the Gorkhas.”

He added that the GNLF would wait for a day or two before deciding its course of action in a central committee meeting.

CPRM leader Shekhar Chettri said, “We had been urging Bista to convene a meeting of alliance partners to discuss candidates for the three Assembly seats, but no such meeting was held. We had also expressed our desire to field a CPRM candidate, but the list was announced without consultation. We are disappointed that our requests were not considered.”

Referring to past cooperation, he said, “In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, we had fielded our leader R.B. Rai as a candidate, but he withdrew his nomination at Bista’s request. We had made a sacrifice then and expected similar consideration, but there was no discussion this time.”

Chettri added that while the party was unhappy with the BJP, it had yet to finalise its future course of action, which would be decided at a meeting tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Anit Thapa, president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), said that the party’s candidates from Kurseong and Kalimpong would file their nominations on March 31, while the Darjeeling candidate would file nomination on April 1.