BJP MLA BP Sharma (Bajgain) has questioned the Election Commission of India’s special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in poll-bound Bihar and flagged concerns for the Gorkha community.

The BJP, however, is seen as the party endorsing the SIR.

The Kurseong MLA said that following the initiation of Bihar SIR, there have been reports of “Bangladeshi and Nepali citizens being found in the list of Bihar…”

“This incident has a strong potential to fuel social tension and division, which is a matter of serious concern. Recent posts on social media indicate that this exercise in Bihar has encouraged suspicion and violent reactions across various states of the country, particularly targeting Bengali-speaking individuals,” Bajgain has stated in written statement to The Telegraph.

The Kurseong MLA stated that the Article 7 of the 1950 India-Nepal friendship treaty which grants equal rights to the citizens of both countries to reside, own property, engage in trade and commerce and move freely, “has repeatedly placed Nepali-speaking Indians under a cloud of suspicion in the past”.

Because of this treaty, many believe that Nepali-speaking Indian citizens are “foreigners” or “outsiders” from Nepal. Proponents of Gorkhaland have argued that a state for Gorkhas would help provide a distinct identity for Nepali-speaking Indians from Nepali citizens.

“In the current context, the SIR process in Bihar has heightened the likelihood of this longstanding issue escalating further,” Bajgain said.

“If the central government implements the SIR process in West Bengal, it is certain to have a negative impact on authentic rural Bengali citizens and genuine Nepali-speaking citizens of the state, particularly due to a lack of proper documentation,” stated Bajgain and has stated that the Supreme Court of Indian should take immediate cognizance of the matter.

BJP leaders in Darjeeling said they had not seen Bajgain’s statement.

This is not the first time that the Kurseong MLA has taken on the BJP.

Bajgain has raised the Gorkhaland issue in the Assembly thrice. However, the BJP has neither used the word Gorkhaland in its election manifesto nor have Bengal BJP leaders supported Gorkhaland by carving Bengal.

In 2024, Bajgain said the BJP was not serious about Gorkhaland and filed his nomination as an Independent from the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat against sitting BJP MP Raju Bista. Bajgain, however, secured only 7,447 votes out of the 13.9 lakh valid votes, fewer than 18,021 votes that Nota received.

Earlier this year, Bajgain also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi countering the BJP MLA from Darjeeling, Raju Bista, on the Sixth Schedule issue. While Zimba batted for inclusion of Darjeeling hills within the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, Bajgain wrote to Modi against it. The Sixth Schedule provides provisions for administration of tribal areas in certain states of the country.