BJP Faces Backlash Over Unfulfilled Promises in the Hills Ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha Election

The BJP's partners in the hills are feeling the pressure from broken promises as the Parliament convenes for the last time before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP pledged to provide 11 hill groups with tribal status along with a "permanent political solution (PPS)." Though most in the hills took the PPS to mean statehood, it was never defined. There was no progress in either.

"The BJP has not yet shown that it intends to keep its word. There have been no significant developments during this Parliamentary session either. We won't be able to approach the public with nothing," one alliance leader who wished to remain anonymous stated.

A temporary budget session of the Parliament has been called. In an election year, the interim budget serves as a short-term financial plan to cover short-term expenses until a new government is established.

"The discussions regarding the BJP's 2019 promises to the hill people did not continue." The man, who was a member of a hill delegation to the Center, sounded agitated. "Every time we met senior ministers (of the BJP government at the Center), they would acknowledge our issues but it seems they would forget it the moment we left the meeting venue," the leader said.

B.P. Bajgain, a BJP MLA from Kurseong, said on Monday. "As I had previously stated, I will not run against the BJP candidate if the government grants tribal status to 11 communities without leaving any of the communities."

A video to this effect was also shared on social media by the Kurseong MLA.

"The 11 communities were classified as 'tribals' in the 1941 Census," Bajgain stated in an interview with this publication. All we want for is for the Center to reinstate our tribal status."

The Kurseong MLA had previously said that if either current BJP MP Raju Bista or former diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla received BJP tickets, he would run against the official BJP candidate, branding them as "outsiders."

The leader did, however, somewhat reverse course on Monday, but it was still clear that he intended to exert pressure on the BJP.

Only the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) among the coalition partners was certain that it would have to support the BJP regardless of whether the party fulfills its pledges made for the 2019 elections.

"We can't immediately destroy bridges. Neeraj Zimba, a GNLF secretary-general and Darjeeling MLA running on a BJP ticket, said, "We have little choice but to continue raising our demand, even if it is before the next central government."