The Anit Thapa-helmed Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), which controls the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and most panchayats across Darjeeling hills, has reportedly finalised its candidates for the three Bengal Assembly seats of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong.
Reliable sources told The Telegraph that the party has decided to field Bijoy Kumar Rai, the current chairman of School Service Commission (SSC hill region), from Darjeeling. Amar Lama, the party’s general secretary will contest from Kurseong. Ruden Sada Lepcha, the sitting MLA from Kalimpong, will be renominated from the same seat.
The party, however, has not officially announced the names.
"A lot of names were discussed by the party after which these names have been finalised. In fact, party president Anit Thapa personally spoke to many party leaders before zeroing in on the names,” said a source in the know.
While Lama, also a former Darjeeling municipality councillor, and MLA Lepcha, are well known political faces in the hills, Rai is a relatively new entrant to politics.
Rai recently retired as the headmaster of the Darjeeling Government High School. He was also appointed as the president of the District School Board.
A writer, he has written a novel in Nepali and edited numerous literary works.
Rai has also been actively associated with well-known social organisations of Darjeeling such as Gorkha Dukha Niwarak Sammelan, Himalayan Kala Mandir and Darjeeling-Sikkim Maitri Sangh, among others.
The BJP had won both the Darjeeling and Kurseong seat during the 2021 Assembly elections. The BGPM bagged only the Kalimpong seat.
"The party is confident of faring well in this year's state polls. This is because the party is in control of both the GTA and most panchayats,” said a party insider.
The BGPM is an ally of the Trinamool Congress in the Darjeeling hills.
However, BGPM president Thapa had earlier said that the party would contest the elections alone from the hills.
Trinamool is unlikely to field any candidate in the hills this time. "This is largely because Trinamool is seen as against statehood (Gorkhaland), which is a strong sentiment in the hills,” said an observer.
Observers believe that Thapa’s announcement to go alone is also to preempt any embarrassment related to an alliance with Trinamool like in 2016.
In 2016, Harka Bahadur Chhetri, the president of the Jana Andolan Party (JAP) who was working closely with Trinamool then, was caught in an uneasy situation when he was announced as the Trinamool candidate from Kalimpong. Trinamool later backtracked. Chhetri contested under the JAP banner but still lost.
During the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BGPM did not use Trinamool flags and festoons although its candidate Gopal Lama was contesting on a Trinamool ticket.