Gorkhey is up to nine hours from Darjeeling town, the farthest corner in the hills with no electricity or roads, but Amar Lama has gone the distance.

The Jana Andolan Party (JAP) nominee for the May 19 Darjeeling Assembly byelection started his campaign from the remote hamlet of 200 people.

“For the first time, a candidate contesting an election came to our village to seek votes. It felt nice… it was really good,” Nima Sherpa, a resident and daily wage earner, said about Lama’s campaign in the area on Monday.

“This is the farthest village in my constituency and I decided to connect with them first,” Lama said.

For Gorkhey, that completely changed the picture. “Earlier, candidates would send their photos or leaflets,” Sherpa said.

The JAP team stayed overnight at Okhara in Sikkim and then trekked an hour to Gorkhey the next day.

“We campaigned through the day and later in the evening, came down to Ramman,” said Lama.

If the campaign is arduous, voting is no mean feat for residents who have to trudge through the hills for at least an hour to their booth in Ramman.

For the villagers, who largely depend on Jorethang town in Sikkim for their daily needs, road connectivity and electricity top their list of demands.