SS Ahluwalia expected to emerge victorious in Darjeeling
Siliguri, 22 April: Dooars-based Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) leaders who voted for BJP
candidates in the Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha seats are all set
to chalk out new strategies on the inclusion of additional land for the
Hill set-up once the poll results are out.
The leaders there are expecting that the GJMM-backed candidate, SS Ahluwalia, would emerge victorious in the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency.
Though the former GJMM’s Dooars unit president, Padam Lama, who joined the Trinamul Congress last year, claimed that Dasrath Trikey will win the Alipurduar seat, two Dooars-based Morcha leaders said: “There is a contest between the BJP and the Left Front in both Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri seats.”
“People in the Dooars supported the Trinamul candidate Dasrath Tirkey,
following chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s development plans for the Dooars in the last 33 months,” Mr Lama said. GJMM leader Ashok Lama, however, said: “Many people, apart from their political identities, voted for the BJP candidate in Alipurduar in support of the Narendra Modi wave in north Bengal. We expect the BJP candidate contesting against the RSP candidate in Alipurduar to top the list. Trinamul may be in the third position.”
Asked to comment on their next plan of action, GJMM leader Mr Lama said: “We are confident that the GJMM-backed BJP candidate, Mr Ahluwalia, will win the Darjeeling LS seat. After the results, we will start demanding a separate state and inclusion of additional areas in it.” Another Malbazar-based GJMM leader, Binod Ghatani, said that they have worked for the BJP in Jalpaiguri LS seat. “Many LF supporters have extended support to the BJP candidate. We hope there is a contest between the BJP and the CPI-M candidate in Jalpaiguri,” he said.
“We are waiting for positive results in Darjeeling as well as the Centre, and we would start demanding a separate state and inclusion of additional land. We will formulate our next course of action after the election results,” he added.
Notably, several people there are worried about the GJMM’s success in the Hills and they apprehend that it would be difficult to restore peace in the plains, given the GJMM’s demands for inclusion of additional land from the Dooars for the Hill set-up. Transport operators, who ferry tourists from Siliguri to Darjeeling, also apprehend that there will be post-result violence in the Hills.(sns)
The leaders there are expecting that the GJMM-backed candidate, SS Ahluwalia, would emerge victorious in the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency.
Though the former GJMM’s Dooars unit president, Padam Lama, who joined the Trinamul Congress last year, claimed that Dasrath Trikey will win the Alipurduar seat, two Dooars-based Morcha leaders said: “There is a contest between the BJP and the Left Front in both Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri seats.”
“People in the Dooars supported the Trinamul candidate Dasrath Tirkey,
following chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s development plans for the Dooars in the last 33 months,” Mr Lama said. GJMM leader Ashok Lama, however, said: “Many people, apart from their political identities, voted for the BJP candidate in Alipurduar in support of the Narendra Modi wave in north Bengal. We expect the BJP candidate contesting against the RSP candidate in Alipurduar to top the list. Trinamul may be in the third position.”
Asked to comment on their next plan of action, GJMM leader Mr Lama said: “We are confident that the GJMM-backed BJP candidate, Mr Ahluwalia, will win the Darjeeling LS seat. After the results, we will start demanding a separate state and inclusion of additional areas in it.” Another Malbazar-based GJMM leader, Binod Ghatani, said that they have worked for the BJP in Jalpaiguri LS seat. “Many LF supporters have extended support to the BJP candidate. We hope there is a contest between the BJP and the CPI-M candidate in Jalpaiguri,” he said.
“We are waiting for positive results in Darjeeling as well as the Centre, and we would start demanding a separate state and inclusion of additional land. We will formulate our next course of action after the election results,” he added.
Notably, several people there are worried about the GJMM’s success in the Hills and they apprehend that it would be difficult to restore peace in the plains, given the GJMM’s demands for inclusion of additional land from the Dooars for the Hill set-up. Transport operators, who ferry tourists from Siliguri to Darjeeling, also apprehend that there will be post-result violence in the Hills.(sns)