In a move that could alter political equations in the Darjeeling Hills, BJP MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma joined the All India Trinamool Congress on Thursday, months before West Bengal heads into assembly elections.

A first-time MLA from Kurseong, Sharma joined the party at its headquarters in Kolkata. He was received by state education minister Bratya Basu and industry minister Shashi Panja.

His switch comes at a time when the political mood in the Hills remains fluid and parties are recalibrating strategies ahead of the polls, expected in the next two months.

Sharma said he would work for chief minister Mamata Banerjee's "development model".

"I was elected by my Gorkha brothers and sisters, but I have not been able to work for them. The BJP made promises but did nothing. There was no real work on the ground," he said. His departure from the BJP follows a period of visible friction.

Sharma had repeatedly supported the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state, arguing that the Hills require focused administrative attention and development.

At different points, he also raised the pitch for a separate North Bengal state, maintaining that regional aspirations were not being addressed adequately. The differences were not confined to speeches.

Sharma had publicly criticised the BJP several times and even staged a demonstration outside the assembly over what he described as inaction on the demand for Gorkhaland.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he contested as an Independent from the Darjeeling seat, projecting himself as the "son-of-the-soil". The attempt did not yield results, with BJP’s Raju Bista retaining the constituency.

The BJP, for its part, sought to play down the development. Party chief whip in the assembly Shankar Ghosh said Sharma’s exit would not affect the party’s position in the Hills.

"His joining the TMC will have no impact on the BJP in the Hills," Ghosh, the MLA of Siliguri, claimed.

The assembly elections, due in the next two months, will decide the future of the 294-member House, whose term ends in May.

In the Hills, where identity politics and statehood demands have shaped electoral outcomes for decades, Sharma’s switch adds another layer to an already shifting landscape.