Darjeeling's BJP MP Raju Bista held a meeting with north Bengal office bearers of the party’s youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) here on Thursday on issues like jobs and development.

The meeting, party insiders said, was aimed to mobilise the youth front in north Bengal, a region where BJP is putting in efforts ahead of civic and rural elections.

Bista, recently appointed as a national general secretary of the BJYM, said: “Over decades now, youths in north Bengal have been bereft of job opportunities. Thousands migrate to other states every year in search of jobs. The state and the central governments have an array of schemes to help them to stand on their own feet. That is why we convened the meeting to discuss how the BJYM can work to help the youths of this region.”

The MP, speaking to the media, also tried to convince hill residents that the Narendra Modi government was serious about a permanent political solution in the hills.

Last month, Bista, after a meeting Union home minister Amit Shah, claimed that the Centre would convene a tripartite meeting on the issue at the start of this month.

“The meeting got delayed because of a number of reasons, which include the recent developments in Afghanistan. Independence Day celebrations were there. But let me assure you that the meeting will be held soon,” he said.

Next week, chief minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to visit north Bengal, her first after assuming the chief minister’s office for the third time.

Bista, referring to her visit, said he would write to the chief minister soon on the needs and expectations of north Bengal residents in detail.

A Trinamul leader in Siliguri said the CM knows north Bengal well and does not need briefings from an MP "who has not done anything for his constituency yet".