Anit Thapa, a prominent political face in the hills who heads the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), passed a missive to the youths in the hills on Monday, urging them to take up more responsibilities to ensure the win of their candidate from Darjeeling seat at the Lok Sabha elections.
The poll, he said, was an “acid test” for them as the BJP won the seat thrice since 2009.
“This will be a crucial election for hill residents, as the BJP did nothing for them in the past 15 years. We have to tell people how the BJP deprived us. The message should reach everybody and youths have to take a prominent role in this regard,” Thapa said at a Yuva Jagaran Samabesh, a gathering of youths organised by his party in Kalimpong.
In the Darjeeling seat, Gopal Lama, a retired bureaucrat, is contesting as a BGPM candidate on a Trinamul ticket.
“Earlier we have seen candidates contesting on a BJP ticket but getting nothing in return. This time, the new symbol (Trinamul) has not interfered with our regionalism. Neither have they (Trinamul) intervened in the Assembly polls, nor in the recent panchayat and GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) elections. Now we have to reciprocate because we have to work with the state and take the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as an acid test,” he said.
Thapa, who is also the chief executive of GTA, requested GTA representatives of GTA and elected members of rural bodies to put efforts in their respective areas to ensure Lama’s win.
Interacting with newspersons, Thapa was also critical of the BJP and reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent comment that the BJP was "very close" to resolving the hill issue.
“They had made a host of promises to the hill residents. But now, they are saying they are very close to resolving the issues. No one, however, knows how long it will take,” he said.
The BJP is yet to declare its candidate for Darjeeling. The BGPM will launch its campaign on Tuesday as Lama arrives in the hills.
“We have asked our supporters to congregate at Bagdogra airport to welcome our candidate,” said Amar Lama, the general secretary of the BGPM.