The BJP will “never” divide Bengal to win an election in Darjeeling. “A State cannot be formed with only three Assembly constituencies and hence, there will be no Gorkhaland,” said BJP State president Rahul Sinha in an exclusive interview to The Hindu .
His statement came at a time when many supporters and the State BJP cadres were feeling that they were missing the “wood for the trees.” For the first time in last several decades, the BJP has created some kind of a “ripple” in West Bengal and a possibility to win substantial votes.
“But by saying that the demand for a separate Gorkhaland State is not unconstitutional the leadership has hurt the sentiments of the Bengalis in 41 seats and thus ruined our chances,” said a young college student of Howrah, Samiran Goswami.
While the State president reiterates that the demand of a separate State is “constitutional”, he emphasised on Wednesday that the party leadership is against bifurcation of Bengal. Earlier, the BJP’s candidate in Darjeeling constituency, S S Ahluwalia said that he will support a separate homeland for “people in the hills,” if elected.
After passing of the Telangana Bill in last February, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), the party leading the movement of Statehood in north Bengal, raised its pitch for a separate State. Quoting from the ‘A.P. Reorganization Bill’, the GJM claimed that the bifurcation of a State does not require the consent of the State government concerned. Sources in the State BJP said that while the central leadership supports the view of GJM, the Bengal unit opposes any bifurcation. Mr. Sinha, however, denied having any “division” in the party on Darjeeling.
“I disagree with the view that the State BJP deals with 41 out of 42 seats in West Bengal and the central BJP deals with Darjeeling. We – State and central BJP – jointly decided the candidate in Darjeeling. There is a convergence of opinion on Darjeeling,” said the party chief in Bengal.
This has provided additional ammunition to the party’s rivals, mainly the CPI(M) and the Trinamool Congress. The chairperson of the ruling party in the State and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has grabbed the opportunity to launch a frontal attack on the BJP by accusing it of trying to bifurcate West Bengal.
Ahluwalia’s comment
With regard to Mr. Ahluwalia’s comment on the Gorkhaland issue, Mr. Sinha , however, claimed that the party’s candidate for the Darjeeling constituency had only reiterated the BJP’s stand in favour of smaller States and had never advocated the demand for Gorkhaland.
“We think the main issue agitating the people of Darjeeling hills is the lack of development there. If that can be resolved then the demand for Gorkaland will wither away from the minds of the people there”, he asserted.
GJM general secretary Roshan Giri, however, told The Hindu, “Mr. Ahluwalia has expressed his support for the Gorkhaland demand.”
When asked whether anyone from the State unit of the BJP had expressed the desire to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Darjeeling hills constituency, Mr. Sinha said nothing of that sort had taken place. “We had urged Mr. Ahluwalia to be the party’s candidate from the Darjeeling constituency six months before the declaration of his candidature for the seat. No leader from the State BJP wanted to contest from that seat”, he added.
