By some quirk of fate, Bimal Gurung is now dependent on the BJP for his survival reversing 15 years of politics when the party banked on him for a toehold in Bengal.

BJP heavyweight Jaswant Singh, who had held important portfolios of external affairs, finance and defence in the Union government, was dependent on Gurung’s Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for his victory in the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency in 2009.

With the Morcha's support, the BJP which had virtually no organisational existence not only in the Darjeeling hills but also in north Bengal won the election by a margin of 2.5 lakh votes defeating the Left Front’s Jibesh Sarkar.

“Singh only needed to address half a dozen public meetings in the constituency. Gurung was in complete control of hill politics and his organisational network ensured a smooth and easy victory for Singh,” said a former Morcha leader who had worked closely with Gurung during the 2009 general election.

Singh was the only BJP candidate to win the 2009 Lok Sabha elections in Bengal.

“Gurung was single-handedly responsible even for the victory of BJP candidate S.S. Ahluwalia in 2014,” the former Morcha leader said.

The equations have, however, reversed in this election.

“A forum demanding smaller states in north Bengal had wanted Gurung to contest from the Darjeeling seat this time. We weighed all options and we could not afford to be on a losing side this time,” a Morcha leader said on the condition of anonymity.

The Morcha's base has been eroding ever since Gurung resurfaced in 2020 after being on the run for three years, and supported the Trinamul Congress in the Assembly elections.

Gurung’s party drew a blank in the Assembly elections in 2021 and later lost the GTA polls. The Morcha had a dismal performance in the civic and panchayat elections as well.

“Gurung needs a fresh breath of air to sustain in hill politics as his party has been pushed to the fringe in hill politics. He is backing the BJP more for his party,” said an observer.

The Morcha leader, however, said the decision to support the BJP was guided by the “interests of the Gorkha community and its issues”.

A senior Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) leader, however, said his party was confident of defeating the BJP-Bimal Gurung combine politically this year.