BJP MP of Darjeeling Raju Bista was on Wednesday named the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha national general secretary by its national president Tejasvi Surya.

The move is being seen as an attempt to address the discontent among BJP supporters of Darjeeling and Kalimpong at Bista being overlooked for a ministerial berth by the Narendra Modi government. MPs John Barla and Nisith Pramanik of Alipurduar and Cooch Behar became ministers.

This prompted many BJP supporters in the hills to react, saying Bista’s proactiveness helped the party win all five Assembly seats in Darjeeling district.

Neeraj Zimba, the BJP MLA of Darjeeling, had shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.

Asked if it was a placatory move, state BJP leaders dodged a direct reply. “The decision (to include an MP in the cabinet) is made by the Prime Minister and central leaders. But let us mention that the post in which Raju Bista has been nominated is far more important to us than that of even a minister,” said Samik Bhattacharya, the state BJP spokesperson.

Anup Kumar Saha, the BJP MLA of Dubrajpur, became a vice-president of the BJYM national panel, BJP sources said.

Additional reporting by Arkamoy Datta Majumdar in Calcutta