CPI(M) candidate S D Legcha, is almost sure to make it to the 13th Lok Sabha. Sources in the Gorkha National Liberation Front told The Financial Express that Ghising preferred Lepcha over others.

After the Gorkhaland strife in the 80s, it is noticed that whosoever received the support of the Gorkhas from the three hill Assembly constituencies, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Darjeeling, made it to the Parliament.

In 1991, Congress was the friend of the Gorkhas. In 1996, there was Ghising's poll boycott, which helped the CPI(M) nominee R B Rai and last year, it was a three-day strike call, which made it a cakewalk for the CPI(M) strong man Ananda Pathak.

"During the last two elections, CPI(M) candidates won by default. However, this year, it is an open support. Ghising has told his party members that he prefers CPI(M)," sources said.

Over the last couple of years, it has been noticed that GNLF and CPI(M) have come closer. In the recent elections of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, CPI(M) never contested seriously. "Now it is the turn of GNLF to help CPI(M) through," sources.

These three Assembly constituencies, which has around 45 per cent of the 12 lakh electorate, assumes a lot of significance. The four other Assembly seats in the plains, Siliguri, Phasidewa, Chopra and Islampur, all the parties have separate pockets of strength. So, the party which takes a major lead in the hills, becomes the ultimate winner.

Last year, R B Rai, the former CPI(M) MP and now a dissident leader, took an early lead from the hills by bagging almost 60 per cent of the votes, but the turnout was a mere 16 per cent. Despite the early lead, Rai could not make it up with Pathak and had to end up in the third spot with an overall 18 per cent vote. Prashanta Nandy of Congress was second with 25 per cent votes and CPI(M)'s Pathak had the support of around 45 per cent.

This year, it will be a four-cornered contest. Apart from Lepcha and Rai, who is contesting as an Independent, Trinamool Congress nominee Tarun Roy and Congress candidate Nar Bahadur Khatiwada are the main contestants.Roy, a retired bureaucrat from Delhi, was selected by Mamata Banerjee against the wishes of the local party leaders. But the recent cross-overs from the Congress has brightened Roy's chances.

The faction-ridden Congress is not better. Intuc district president, Ramshaish Mishra was initially stated to be the party candidate, but was ultimately dumped and Khatiwada was selected. Party sources said he was almost a non-entity in this region. However, the party is strong in two Assembly constituencies, Chopra and Islampur, where they bagged around 37 per cent votes in the last elections.

Dissidence is also there in CPI(M). The party had to replace Suraj Pathak, son of the former MP Ananda Pathak, to avoid a complete division in its ranks and files.

The most interesting aspect, however, is the separate election manifestoes for Darjeelng. The move is aimed at wooing the Nepalese electorate. Thr Congress, in its manifesto, supported the demand of Gorkhaland. In fact, Khatiwada's nomination is another move in that direction. In the hills, as well as, in the plains, the election fever has failed to grip the electorate. Few street corner meetings were noticed in Kurseong and Darjeeling in support of CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress. At the plains, the picture is almost same, with the political campaigning a bit more but certainly below expectations.