Darjeeling Lok Sabha polls: 'Gorkhaland' key issue as BJP, TMC fight it out

Darjeeling, the 'Queen of Hills' is scheduled for polling on April 26 during the second phase of Lok Sabha elections. TMC's Gopal Lama will be contesting against BJP's Raju Bista for the Darjeeling seat.

BJP's candidate Raju Bista won the 2019 general elections with 750,067 votes. He was born in 1986 to Smt. Parvati Bista and Shri Vishnu Bista from Manipur. He comes from a Gorkha family.

Whereas, Gopal Lama a retired civil servant and leader of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), was named as the TMC candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat. Lama, aged 70, joined the BGPM recently and hasn't been active in politics before. He served as the Darjeeling additional district magistrate and later as an OSD (Officer on Special Duty) in the GTA until 2017 after retiring in 2014. Lama is from Garigaon near Tung in Kurseong.

Darjeeling plays a central role in Gorkhaland movement. The major issues in Darjeeling are separate statehood for Gorkhaland, water shortage, soil erosion, tea workers' issue, and pollution.

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