Raju Bista, the BJP MP of Darjeeling who reached here on Saturday, said that the Bimal Gurung faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha might have had its own compulsions for severing ties with the BJP, but the Gorkhas were natural allies of the saffron party.

“They (Gurung camp) might have had some compulsions... But I think the Gorkhas have a natural alliance with the BJP. Here, we have an alliance with the people of hills, Terai and the Dooars,” Bista said at the Bagdogra airport.

“Also, the BJP always meets its commitments,” he added, referring to decisions of the Narendra Modi government such as the abrogation of Article 370, construction of Ram Mandir and amendment of labour laws.

On Gurung, Bista said he was upset. “It is upsetting for me that Bimalji (Gurung) has withdrawn his support from BJP…. But I still have good relations with him,” the MP said.

In the hills, the political situation has been volatile ever since Gurung resurfaced in Calcutta on October 21 after three years to announce that he was deserting the BJP for Trinamul. Gurung said the BJP leadership had done nothing for the statehood demand.

In 2019, Bista had won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat with a huge margin, riding on the Gurung faction’s support.

“Mamata Banerjee has taken the strategy of ‘divide and rule’ for the hills...separately appeasing both Gurung and Tamang. But such tactics will not work,” Bista said.

The BJP leadership, sources said, would now campaign in the hills that they never ruled out the demand for a separate state.