Ahead of LS polls, BJP MLA threatens to contest as Independent if 'outsider' fielded in Darjeeling

BJP MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma has left his party uncomfortable by saying he'll contest as an Independent candidate if a local is not given ticket by the saffron party in the Lok Sabha elections. He says a person contesting from the Hills should know the language and sentiments of the people here.

Darjeeling (West Bengal):BJP MLA from Kurseong, Bishnu Prasad Sharma on Thursday threatened to contest as an Independent candidate if the party gives ticket to an 'outsider' in the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency for the upcoming polls.

"For 25 years we have been helping outsiders win elections in the Hills. First it was Congress and then BJP but nobody is working for the issues of the Hills. After winning the polls, they forget their assurances. This is what has happened here. Darjeeling is not a football ground where anyone can come and play leaving us mute spectators. If this time, a local candidate is given the ticket, I will try my best to ensure his victory. But, if an 'outsider' is fielded again, then I will contest against him," Sharma threatened.

The BJP MLA stressed that someone who comes from another state and buys a house in the Hills does not become a local. The person must know the mountains as well as understand the emotions of the hill dwellers, he added.

Notably, the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat has been held by national-level political parties for 25 years. The seat has been represented by Congress' Yashwant Sinha, Surinder Singh Ahluwalia and now Raju Bista. With the Lok Sabha elections around the corner, Sharma's outburst has left the saffron camp uncomfortable.

The Hills have always been on the top of the discussions in Bengali politics. Even after the 2017 Gorkhaland agitation, the BJP managed to win the seat and got support from the GNLF and Morcha. But this time the poll equation in the Hills is completely different. Along with the demand for a separate state for the hill dwellers, there is also a demand that Darjeeling be accorded special status under the Sixth Schedule while the demand for a permanent political solution is already long due. Now it remains to be seen what new equations are formed in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

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