The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), which is an ally of Trinamul, has proposed former civil servant Gopal Lama as the alliance’s candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat.
Sources in the BGPM said that the party forwarded the name to Trinamul for a formal announcement later.
“The party has forwarded the name of Gopal Lama, popular both in the Darjeeling hills and plains,” a source told The Telegraph.
“We are in an alliance with Trinamul and we will fight the election together. While we are selecting the candidate for the Darjeeling seat, the candidate will contest under the Trinamul symbol,” said the source.
So far, Lama,70, had been aloof from politics.
Lama, born in Kurseong, served Darjeeling district first as an SDO and then as joint director of tourism and additional district magistrate. “In his career as a bureaucrat, he spent 20 years in Darjeeling district. Even after his retirement in 2014, he was appointed as an officer on special duty at the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) till 2017,” said a source.
BGPM sources said that Lama was picked up for his popularity in the hills and plains of Darjeeling district. “He spent 13 years in the plains of Darjeeling. He resides in Siliguri and is very active in social work,” said the source.
Lama told The Telegraph: “Yes, Anit Thapa did discuss the issue with me, but I won't comment much until my name is officially announced."
Lama said he had been approached by the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to be the Morcha candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
“It is also a fact that both Bimal Gurung and Roshan Giri (Morcha general secretary) approached me to contest the 2019 election as their candidate. But their offer came too late. This time, Anit Thapa contacted me early,” said Lama.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Amar Singh Rai from the Binay Tamang-Anit Thapa camp of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha contested the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat on Trinamul’s symbol.
Gurung backed the BJP’s Raju Bista in 2019, who won and became the MP.
