Bagdogra, March 12: Bimal Gurung
today said Bhaichung Bhutia, the Trinamul candidate for Darjeeling,
wouldn’t garner more than 15,000 votes in the hills and the
comprehensive development of Bengal was possible only if Narendra Modi
became the Prime Minister.
“Just like the CPM
which lost to us (the BJP-Gorkha Janmukti Morcha alliance) in
Darjeeling in 2009, we will defeat Trinamul in the coming Lok Sabha
polls. Now that the Morcha and the BJP have forged an alliance, Trinamul
will perform abysmally in the hills. We are not considering Trinamul or
any other party even as a contender in the election,” the Morcha
president said at the Bagdogra airport on his return from New Delhi.
“Let me iterate that Bhaichung Bhutia will not get more than 15,000 votes in the hills,” he added.
The hill vote has
traditionally decided the winner of the Darjeeling seat because the
voters there poll for one candidate en bloc.
Although the plains areas have more voters, the voting is fractured.
Gurung said the Morcha had tied up with the BJP because of the latter’s support for Gorkhaland.
“Back in 2009, we
had supported Jaswant Singh as the BJP candidate. He was the first
Parliamentarian to mention the demand for the separate state of
Gorkhaland on the floor of Lok Sabha since Independence. We have decided
to support the BJP again appreciating the proactive stance of Singh and
his party.”
The Morcha chief
also rooted for Modi. “Further, Bengal is lagging behind in development
and the Morcha sincerely feels comprehensive growth across the state is
possible only if Narendra Modi is elected the Prime Minister,” Gurung
said.
The GTA Sabha
chief said the Morcha would put its best efforts to ensure that Gorkha
votes were cast in favour of the BJP in Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri seats
and other parts of the country.
The BJP candidate for Darjeeling may be declared tomorrow.(TT)