Sitting Darjeeling BJP MP S.S. Ahluwalia did not attend Narendra
Modi’s public meeting in Siliguri but was present at his Calcutta rally,
with some linking the absence to an outcry over his recent “born in
Nepal” swipe.
Asked about demands in the hills for a
son-of-the-soil candidate for the Darjeeling seat, Ahluwalia had last
month said some people in the hills “were born in Nepal”. The comment
drew fire from the Binay Tamang faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha
and ignited demonstrations against the MP in the hills.
Asked why
he was not present at the Siliguri rally, Ahluwalia told The Telegraph:
“I was at the Brigade Parade Grounds meeting in Calcutta. I could be in
Calcutta or in Siliguri… I stayed in Calcutta. There is no other
reason.”
“Moreover…. Raju Bista (the new Darjeeling BJP candidate)
should be present and he was there at the meeting….I did not want to
overshadow him,” Ahluwalia added in a humourous tone.
Some felt
there was more to his absence. “Ahluwalia’s remarks had left BJP leaders
here in an awkward position as some hill parties and organisations said
the BJP should clarify whether it endorses such comments. This might be
one of the reasons he (Ahluwalia) attended the rally in Calcutta and
not in Siliguri,” said an observer.
Earlier, the Gorkha National Liberation Front and a section of the
Morcha had protested the prolonged absence of the BJP leader and Union
minister from the hills during and after the statehood agitation of
2017. The parties complained that he had not taken any initiative, nor
intervened, to improve the situation then.
The GNLF had filed a
“missing diary” with police in Ahluwalia’s name to embarrass the MP.
This time, the GNLF has backed Bista, the new BJP candidate.
Getting
the GNLF as an ally, along with the Bimal Gurung faction of the Morcha,
has fired the BJP’s hopes of shoring up support. Until a few months
ago, the BJP could not hold programmes in the hills as anger at the
party and the MP simmered.
“GNLF leaders and supporters were there
(at Modi’s Siliguri)) meeting in large numbers. It seems the BJP played
strategically and did not take any risks,” the observer said.
In
Calcutta, Ahluwalia was seen on the Brigade dais with Modi. He was among
the first of the senior BJP leaders to arrive and among the last to
leave after the event. He was part of the photo-ops at the start of the
rally but when he apparently approached the Prime Minister for talks, it
did not take place.
Sources in the BJP state unit said the
Bengal-born Ahluwalia, who “opted out” of the Darjeeling seat, was vying
for a ticket from the Burdwan-Durgapur constituency. “Our candidates
are yet to be announced for two Bengal seats, Burdwan-Durgapur and
Purulia. Ahluwalia wants a ticket from Burdwan-Durgapur. He wanted to
speak to Modiji about it at the Brigade. But that conversation did not
take place,” said a BJP functionary.
https://www.telegraphindia.com
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