Contrasting Reactions in BJP's Darjeeling Constituency as Raju Bista Gets Renominated
The BJP's announcement of Darjeeling MP Raju Bista's renomination for the Lok Sabha seat evoked contrasting responses from party members, with one MLA celebrating and another expressing disappointment. The dynamics reveal underlying tensions within the party and the constituency.
After Darjeeling MP Raju Bista was renominated in the second list of Lok Sabha candidates announced by the BJP on Sunday evening, the Kurseong BJP MLA pouted and the Darjeeling BJP MLA danced, creating a stark contrast on the saffron canvas.
Neeraj Zimba, who won the Darjeeling Assembly seat on a BJP ticket, danced to a Nepali song as soon as the BJP released Bista's name. B.P. Sharma (Bajgain), the BJP Kurseong MLA, chose to run against Bista because he does not consider Bista to be a "son of the soil".
The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) captured and shared the 38-second footage of Zimba's dance on the party's WhatsApp media group. Zimba is the secretary-general of the GNLF.
"Dancing in joy as Raju Bista is re confirmed the BJP ticket for the prestigious Lok Sabha seat from Darjeeling," Zimba commented beside his dancing video on Facebook.
The BJP camp remained tight all day on Sunday as rumors spread that the party was debating between Bista and former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.
The majority of Darjeeling BJP leaders and the GNLF, among others, supported Bista's candidacy. In the event that Bista was not given the party's ticket, Zimba had even promised to run as an Independent.
But Kurseong BJP MLA Bajgain said that he would have to run now as the BJP had not yet nominated a "bhoomiputra."
Although his in-laws are from the Darjeeling area, Bista is a native of Manipur.
Now that the (BJP) name has been confirmed, I have made the decision to run for office. Outsiders have failed to handle our difficulties three times in a row, according to Bajgain, who was alluding to the Darjeeling BJP MPs, Jaswant Singh, S.S. Ahluwalia, and Bista, who were elected in 2009.
"Unfortunately, the BJP was unable to identify even one candidate among the 17 lakh Darjeeling residents," said Bajgain.
The BJP pledged 11 hill tribes tribal status and a long-term political solution to the area in its platform for the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
After five years, these assurances remain unfulfilled.
