Droupadi Murmu, the candidate fielded by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the presidential elections, reached Siliguri on Monday and met Sikkim chief minister P.S. Tamang and his party MLAs at a hotel on the outskirts of the city.

Her visit is being seen as a part of the BJP’s strategy to try and consolidate support of elected representatives of Sikkim and north Bengal.

The presidential election will be held on July 18.

Murmu was accompanied by central ministers Sarbananda Sonowal and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, along with BJP leader Sambit Patra.

In recent years, this is the first time a presidential candidate has visited this region seeking support.

As Murmu reached the hotel, she received a grand welcome from cultural troupes.

Tamang, who heads the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) government, also welcomed her.

Around 30 SKM MLAs, along with its Lok Sabha member Indra Hang Subba, and Hichey Lachungpa, the Rajya member of the opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), were also present at the venue. So were a number of BJP leaders of Siliguri.

Pawan Chamling, the former chief minister of Sikkim and the sole SDF MLA, was absent from the meeting on Monday, but had earlier announced his support for Murmu.

Murmu is a tribal candidate.

For years now, two demands of the tribal communities are long pending in Sikkim and adjoining hilly areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in Bengal.

One is the conferment of tribal status on 11 hill communities.

The other is reservation of seats for Limbu and Tamang communities in the Sikkim Assembly. These communities received tribal status in 2003.

Tamang said he had mentioned those issues when he met Murmu in Delhi earlier. “It was great to see a presidential candidate turning up in our region,” he said.

Murmu’s visit, BJP insiders said, would also help the party in tribal belts of north Bengal.

“We are confident of her victory. Our party’s decision to select her for the President’s post would surely help us to develop support base in this region (among tribal communities) ahead of next year’s panchayat polls in Bengal,” said a BJP functionary.

Murmu reached Calcutta on Monday evening and will meet state BJP leaders here on Tuesday.