Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League vice-president Laxman Pradhan, who had
been fielded by the party for the Darjeeling seat, has decided not to
contest the polls citing health reasons.
The ABGL is not fielding any nominee from the hills this time.
Sources said the party would support Jan Andolan Party chief Harka
Bahadur Chhetri in Kalimpong.
"We are looking for an alternative candidate. A nominee should be
fixed by 1pm. I am not contesting as my family members and relatives do
not want me to because I have high blood pressure and blood sugar,"
Laxman had said early this morning.
No ABGL nominee filed papers for the seat today, the last date for submitting nominations.
Asked about an alternative candidate, Pratap Khati, ABGL general
secretary, said: "We were not interested in finding an alternate
candidate as Laxman Pradhan was the consensus candidate for Darjeeling.
He could not contest due to health reasons. Also, when the problem arose
over our Darjeeling candidate, we did not pursue the Kurseong candidate
too seriously. We did not want anti-Morcha votes to split."
Today, Govind Chhetri of the Communist Party of Revolutionary
Marxists (CPRM) filed his papers for the Darjeeling seat. The CPRM is
contesting Assembly polls on its own for the first time.(TT)
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