Kolkata: The GJM on Tuesday dismissed BJP's claim of having left four seats, including three in Darjeeling, to the hill party in return for support to the saffron party in six seats in the plains and said it was prepared to support the national party in only one seat. GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told PTI from Darjeeling that his party would support the BJP in the Madarihat constituency in Jalpaiguri district in north Bengal.
"No, no! We will contest in the hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and Kalchini in Jalpaiguri district and support the BJP in the Madarihat seat," Giri said. He said regarding the other seats in north Bengal, the party would shortly take a decision after it received reports by GJM fact-finding committees.
West Bengal BJP president Rahul Sinha claimed that the Morcha would support the BJP for Matigara, Naxalbari, Kumarigram, Mal, Madarihhat and Dabgram-Phulbari Assembly segment in the state. Asked about Giri's statement, Sinha said, "I have said this on the basis of discussion with GJM."
In the 2009 parliamentary elections, the BJP and the GJM went for an alliance and BJP leader Jaswant Singh was elected from Darjeeling seat with a big margin.
Meanwhile, PCC president Manas Bhuniya on Tuesday refused to make any comment on the reported statement by the president of the Party's hill unit, K B Chettri, that it was looking at an electoral understanding with the GJM for the three hill Assembly segments of the district. "I will rather not make any comment," Bhuniya said.
On whether the Congress high command will be agreeable to the idea of seeking an electoral tie-up with the GJM which is demanding a separate Gorkhaland state, Chettri said that the local leadership was already in favour of Union Territory status for the hills.
Asked if there was any possibility of a tie-up with the Congress, Giri did not rule it out, saying, "We will take a stand later on some other seats where we have not put up candidates as yet."
The GJM, a major force in the region, is yet to decide on whether to put up its own candidates or support an Independent or back nominees of a non-Left political party in the hills and in certain constituencies with a substantial Gorkha population in the north Bengal plains.
"The leadership has set up three fact-finding committees for Darjeeling, Terai and Dooars to seek the opinion of different political parties and groupings as well as a cross-section of the people to facilitate a decision regarding its position in the coming polls," senior GJM leader and member of the party's central committee Harka Bahadur Chettri said.
There are 54 seats in north Bengal out of a total 294 seats in West Bengal. Elections would be held in six phases with the first phase poll for 54 seats in north Bengal scheduled for April 18.
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