A delegation of BJP alliance partners from Darjeeling, along with BJP national secretary and Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya, met Union minister of state home G. Kishan Reddy in Delhi on Thursday on the progress made in the BJP's 2019 election manifesto on two key demands, that of granting tribal status to 11 hill communities and finding a permanent political solution in the hills.

The delegation included BJP MP Raju Bista and his party colleagues, and representatives of the GNLF, CPRM, Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League, Gorkhaland Rajya Nirman Morcha and Sumeti Mukti Morcha. These are the parties which had supported Bista during the last Lok Sabha election with the exception of Bimal Gurung’s Gorkha Janmukti Morcha which is now supporting Trinamul.

After the meeting, Reddy tweeted: “…It was reiterated to the delegation, of our govt’s commitment to transform the region to one of the most prosperous, progressive & peaceful region in India, and informed them of the steps we have taken & progress made towards fulfilling the Sankalp Patra commitments we have made to the people here.”

Bista in a written statement after the meeting added: “Hon’ble Reddy ji...assured the delegation that, the government on its part has been sincerely working towards the inclusion of left-out Gorkha tribes at the earliest.” Bista also said that finding a permanent political solution of the hills was “top priority” for the Centre.

Neeraj Zimba, Darjeeling MLA from the GNLF who won the bypoll on a BJP ticket, said the meeting “was truthful.”

“We realised that the issues that the Centre discussed in earlier meetings (with Bimal Gurung faction) were not in consonance with what had been told to the public,” said Zimba, this assertion hinting at a move to discredit Gurung.

The Centre’s assurance this time suggests that unlike in the past it would be a make-or-break situation for the BJP in the hills. The BJP won both Darjeeling Lok Sabha and Assembly seats last year but many believe that if the BJP fails to deliver anything concrete the advantage would be lost in the Bengal polls.

Past promises of the BJP-led government have not yielded much for the hills.

An RTI query had revealed that the Office of the Registrar General of India, under the home ministry, had not warmed up to the demand for including the 11 hill communities in the ST list. Despite this, there were purported video statements of Union ministers that the tribal status could be granted any day. It has not happened yet.

Observers believe that while BJP is still in a strong footing at the moment in the hills, failure to come up with concrete steps to readdress the two issues promised in the election manifesto could put the saffron party on a sticky wicket.

“It would not take a moment for the BJP to lose all its support base from the hills. If no concrete steps are taken, NDA’s current allies would not think twice about charting a separate course. The next three months are crucial for the BJP and hill politics,” said an observer, adding “only meetings and assurances won’t help the BJP”.