New Delhi: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and Gorkha National Liberation Front on Sunday announced their support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Darjeeling in upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Leaders of the two Gorkha outfits met BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, the in-charge of BJP's affairs in West Bengal, in the national capital today.
The party released a statement that Gorkha outfits while announcing their support said that BJP is the only political party which has always addressed to their issues and have worked for them.
In the meantime, BJP today named young party leader Raju Singh Bisht as its candidate from Darjeeling seat for the Lok Sabha polls in place of sitting MP and Union minister SS Ahluwalia.
Speaking to media today, Vijayvargiya said that Bisht will contest from Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal. He added that Ahluwalia, in a letter to BJP president Amit Shah has expressed his inability to contest from the seat and has expressed his wish to contest from any other seat in West Bengal.
The BJP has been winning the Darjeeling seat with support from these Gorkha parties since 2009. Party leader Jaswant Singh was elected to the seat with active support from GJM in 2009 and SS Ahluwalia in 2014.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee has also managed to win over a section of the Gorkha leadership in a determined bid to wrest the seat from the BJP. The Trinamool has fielded Amar Singh Rai of the GJM faction, being led by former Bimal Gurung aide Binay Tamang, on the seat.
