Darjeeling, Oct. 20: Major Opposition parties in the hills will try to hammer out a consensus tomorrow, regarding the delimitation of the Darjeeling Assembly segment.

With the National Delimitation Commission restructuring the Assembly segments countrywide, the Opposition is upbeat over media reports that the Darjeeling district could have six representatives in the Assembly.

“We have gone through the media reports and they are encouraging. Infact, we need more than six seats. Tomorrow, we shall sit with the Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL) and the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CPRM) and jointly submit our views to the National Commission,” said Dawa Narbual, president, Congress (Hills).

Senior CPRM leader D.S. Bomzon said the major Opposition parties in the hills were happy since the early indications were positive. “We would also try to rope in other parties and try to submit our recommendations jointly to the commission. That will make our case stronger,” he said.

Darjeeling district presently has five Assembly constituencies — Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong, Siliguri and Phansidewa — the last two mainly comprising areas of the plains.

S.P. Lepcha, an MP from Darjeeling, said the party would discuss the creation of an additional segment in the district in a meeting with the district secretariat on October 26 in Siliguri. “We need to know the areas from which the new constituency will be carved out, as it could have many implications,” he said. “We will take a concrete decision only after the meeting,” added Lepcha.

Deepak Gurung, president of the GNLF, Darjeeling Branch Committee, refused to comment on the report, saying a decision will be taken after consulting chairman Subash Ghishing.

Driver murdered: Narain Pradhan, 27, a driver of a Maruti van, was murdered when his car skidded off the road at College Valley near Rangbull, under Jorebungalow police station. Pradhan was alone and was returning from Siliguri.

after dropping the passengers when the mishap took place.