BJP Faces Internal Discontent in Darjeeling as MLAs Threaten Independent Contest
Conflicting Loyalties and Local Representation Concerns Create Turmoil Ahead of Lok Sabha Polls
Two of the BJP's MLAs in Darjeeling have threatened to run as Independents in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, each for a different cause, putting the party in an odd position.
The two-time Darjeeling MLA with a BJP ticket, Neeraj Zimba, declared on Saturday that he would run as an Independent from the Darjeeling seat in the event that BJP MP Raju Bista was not given a BJP ticket. On April 26, Darjeeling casts its votes in the second of the seven-phase polls.
B.P. Sharma, a Bajgain-based Kuresong BJP MLA, plans to run as an independent in the event that "any outsider" receives the BJP ticket.
"In a written statement to the media, Zimba stated that he would have no choice but to run as an independent candidate in protest against this decision, should the Central Leadership of the BJP fail to renominate the candidature of Shri Raju Bista from the Darjeeling constituency."
Zimba is well-known to be close to Bista. He serves as the secretary-general of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF).
The BJP has not yet revealed its candidate for Darjeeling.
According to a source, "there are talks that former Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla is being considered (as the BJP nominee)."
Shringla's ancestry comes from Darjeeling.
Many people think that the BJP's tardiness in declaring its nominee is partly due to the Shringla issue.
"The Shringla factor is also driving Zimba's announcement today (Saturday)," a BJP worker stated.
BJP MLA Bajgain declared that if Bista, Shringla, or "any outsider" wins the BJP ticket in Darjeeling, he will run as an Independent.
It is necessary for a bhoomiputra (son of the soil) to represent Darjeeling. Both Bista and Shringla are outsiders in my opinion. I'll run as an Independent if outsiders win the ticket. I'm adamant," Bajgain declared.
Since 2009, the BJP has been victorious in the Darjeeling seat; however, the legislators, Jaswant Singh, S.S. Ahluwalia, and Raju Bista, are not from the region. But Bista, a Manipur-born Gorkha, has in-laws in Siliguri.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
