Darjeeling Trinamul candidate Gopal Lama on Saturday reached Chopra, the sole Assembly segment of the seat where the BJP has lagged behind in the past three general elections.

He was accompanied by Siliguri mayor Gautam Deb Darjeeling (plains) district Trinamul chief Papia Ghosh.

“Our candidate launched the campaign in Chopra today (Saturday). The response was massive and hundreds of people spontaneously joined the rally. We are confident that like the previous elections, Trinamul will secure a lead here this time again. We are putting in every effort to increase our margin in this Assembly segment,” Deb said after the campaign.

Trinamul also held a public meeting in Chopra with hundreds of party workers and supporters.

Since 2009, the BJP has won the Darjeeling parliamentary seat thrice. However, in Chopra, which is in North Dinajpur district but a part of the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, the BJP has always lagged behind. The other six Assembly segments of the seat are in Darjeeling district.

In 2009, the Congress, the then Trinamul ally, was ahead of the BJP by around 55,000 votes in Chopra. In 2014, Trinamul got a lead of around 23,000 votes over the BJP. In 2019, Trinamul was ahead of the BJP by 49,000 votes.

Political observers said that as Chopra is a minority-dominated belt, Trinamul secured more votes here.

“This time, Trinamul has a strong ally (Anit Thapa’s Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha) in the hills and expects a lead from three Assembly segments of the hills. Trinamul leaders in the plains have the onus to ensure that Gopal Lama gets a lead from all four Assembly segments in the plains. That is why, it seems, the party is steadfastly focusing on Chopra, a favourable political ground, to exert pressure on the BJP,” said an observer.

In the 2021 state polls, Trinamul’s Hamidul Rahaman won Chopra by a margin of 61,000 votes, defeating the BJP.

“In the Darjeeling seat, we have a son of the soil who was a state government official. His acceptance among people has already helped us to win half the battle,” said a senior Trinamul functionary in Chopra.

The BJP has fielded sitting MP Raju Bista for the second time in Darjeeling but he is yet to file his nomination.