Leaders of Mamata Banerjee’s party in the hills feel Trinamul should field candidates in all three Assembly seats — Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong — to skirt the factions of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, who despite being Trinamul allies, are engaged in feuding.

“Both factions (Bimal Gurung and Binay Tamang) are desperate to field their own candidates in these seats. Their leaders engage in a war of words and none is ready to relent. It is evident that if one faction is asked to contest a seat, the other faction will not support it, which can benefit the BJP,” said a Trinamul insider. “Trinamul fielding its own candidates and seeking support from both factions can be more effective,” he added.

L.B. Rai, Trinamul president of Darjeeling (hills) district committee, said their workers have been for years going every nook and corner of the hills to establish the party’s base.

“We enjoy a support base of over two lakhs in the hills and more and more people are supporting us these days,” Rai said. “In our meetings, we sense our grassroots workers want the party to field candidates in all these three seats instead of giving them to its allies.”

Last October, Trinamul leaders were elated to have Morcha leader Bimal Gurung on board after he severed ties with the BJP. But his arrival in the hills did not go down well with the Binay Tamang faction of Morcha that has been with Trinamul since 2017.