Darjeeling election result: Can BJP replicate 2014 success in West Bengal’s hill town?

Darjeeling election result: The Darjeeling parliamentary constituency of West Bengal is currently held by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) SS Ahluwalia. Battle in the Darjeeling parliamentary constituency is a prestigious fight between two rivals – BJP and TMC. While the saffron party has fielded whom the ruling party terms an ‘outsider’, TMC has given a ticket to its ‘bhumiputra.’ BJP Darjeeling candidate Raju Singh Bista, a businessman, as its candidate from the hill town for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The other candidates in the fray are TMC’s Amar Singh Rai, Congress’ Shankar Malakar, CPI(M)’s Saman Pathak and BSP’s Sudip Mandal.

Lok Sabha Election 2019: Full Coverage 

Voting in Darjeeling parliamentary constituency for the 17th Lok Sabha was held in the second phase on April 18, 2019. The result will be declared on May 23, 2019. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s Ahluwalia had won the seat defeating TMC’s Bhaichung Bhutia by receiving 42.80 per cent of the votes polled in the constituency. In the previous general election, there were 14,37,126 voters of which 7,37,184 were male and 6,99,942 were female. The voter turnout in 2014 General elections was 79.46 per cent.

Historically, Darjeeling has been the stronghold of Bharatiya Janata Party since 2009 when late MP and Union minister Jaswant Singh had polled 51.5 per cent votes in his favour. In 2014, SS Ahluwalia had received 42.75 per cent in his favour while in 2004 and 1999, the seat was won by Congress’ Dawa Narbula and CPI(M)’s SP Lepcha.

The BJP had won the election with the support of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). In 2019 too, the GJM has extended its support to the saffron party. Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat is one of the key seats for BJP to retain in Mamata Banerjee’s bastion in West Bengal.

Following the announcement of Bista as BJPs candidate from the hill town, senior GJM leader Swaraj Thapa had quit the party calling him an outsider. Born in Manipur, Bista has been a member of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). Bista is supported by GNLF (Gorkha National Liberation Front), Bimal Gurung faction of GJM, Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists and a faction of ABGL (Akhil Bharat Gorkha League).

The relationship between BJP and GJM went bitter in 2017 after violent protests began in the hill town over a strike which lasted for 104 days. Both the state and central government had worked together to end the protest. While the state administration had deployed police forces, the Centre had sent 15 companies of the CAPF (Central Armed Police Force).

There are seven assembly constituencies which fall under the Darjeeling parliamentary seat- Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Kurseong, Siliguri, Chopra, Phasidewa and Matigara-Naxalbari. One of the key issues for the seat is Gorkhaland. TMC, Congress and Left have never supported the formation of a separate state. The saffron party has also never promised but said that it will find a permanent political solution to the issue.