Raju Bista, the BJP candidate from Darjeeling, filed his nomination on Wednesday and exuded confidence to retain the seat, but beyond the hustings the politics in Darjeeling is turning murkier this summer because of “failed promises and internal bickering”.

“The people of Darjeeling had reposed their faith in me five years ago.... They will do so again,” said a smiling Bista after filing his nomination at the Darjeeling district magistrate’s office.

Hundreds of supporters of the BJP and its allies, including Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung and well-known faces in the hills such as Mahendra P. Lama, the founding vice-chancellor of Sikkim University, and G.S. Yonzone, the principal of Kalimpong College, gathered at Chowrasta before taking out a 2km rally to reach the Darjeeling DM’s office around noon.

While the BJP seems to be ahead of other parties in the race for Darjeeling, there is little doubt that Bista has to answer voters on the party’s failure in delivering on two of its promises — finding a permanent political solution for the region and also tribal status to 11 hill communities.

The other concern for Bista would be Kurseong BJP MLA B.P. Bajgain, who has filed his nomination against him as an Independent. Bandana Rai, an advocate and activist who supported Bista in the 2019 elections, has also filed her nomination against him as an Independent.

“Bista has been facing trouble within the BJP for some time and it will continue till election day,” said a source close to Bista while referring to the nail-biting finish to the final selection of the BJP candidate for the seat.

A section of the party had strongly lobbied for Harsh Vardhan Shringla, former foreign secretary, who had created a flutter in the hills with his impactful intervention in facilitating job opportunities and creating parallel verticals for income generation.

“Bista managed to swing the scales in his favour largely because the BJP’s allies and especially the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) that stood by him, along with most of the BJP district functionaries, else Shringla was within striking distance of the BJP ticket,” said a source.

Shringla, however, has conveyed his best wishes to Bista and his supporters are confident that the former diplomat will enter Parliament through the Rajya Sabha.

Many of Shringla’s supporters, who were rooting for the former diplomat’s nomination, are still trying to create problems for Bista to settle their political scores with him.

“These detractors of Bista may not have much impact politically, but they can cause embarrassment.... It remains to be seen whether Shringla, who is a non-political person, can persuade them to stop opposing Bista,” said a political analyst.

The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), which is supporting the Trinamul candidate from Darjeeling, Gopal Lama, is putting on a spirited show against the BJP largely because of its total control of the hill panchayats that the party recently won.

“There is no denying that some trust deficit still exists between the hill population and the TMC. The BGPM, however, is trying its best to perform better this election,” said an observer.

Problems arising out of internal bickering — a major challenge for the BJP — are also bothering the Congress.

The moment the Congress announced the candidature of Munish Tamang, a professor in Delhi, the Congress “in-charge of the hills” and the general secretary of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC), Binay Tamang, said he would not support Munish.

Hamro Party, the principal Opposition party at the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), which decided to support Munish, faced backlash after its decision.

On Tuesday, six Hamro Party councillors from Darjeeling municipality switched over to the BJP, and on Wednesday most of the party’s leaders from Mirik tendered their resignation, unhappy with the party’s decision to support the Congress.

Amid the internal challenges, Bista on Wednesday promised to do his best to “fulfil the desires of Darjeeling”.

“My objective is to get the issues of the region resolved.... Even the Prime Minister has promised the same,” said Bista. The statement is seen as a jibe at Gopal Lama, who has been questioning Bista’s contribution to the hills.

The BJP candidate also countered allegations that his party has done nothing for the hills. “Some say that the BJP has done nothing for us in the past 15 years but then the Bengal government, too, has not done anything in the last 75 years,” said Bista.

He also alleged that there has been too much corruption in the hills.

“If I can snatch my ticket for the community, I can also bring the CBI,” said Bista. Many believe that the “snatch” reference was about his last-minute nomination for the Darjeeling seat over Shringla.