Hills give poll frenzy a miss with parties yet to announce name of candidates

Darjeeling: No poll graffiti adorn the walls; poll rallies are yet to take to the streets. Though just a month is left for the Darjeeling and Kalimpong Hills to go to polls, there is hardly any frenzy revolving around elections with political parties yet to announce the name of candidates.

Incidentally TMC will not be contesting the three hill seats but has left it open for "friends."

"We will announce the name of the candidates for the three seats on March 23," stated Roshan Giri, General Secretary, GJM. The Binoy faction of the GJM will also be naming their candidates in the next few days.

The BJP is yet to announce the names of candidates for the Hill seats along with the Siliguri seat. Both TMC candidate Om Prakash Mishra and Left-Congress- ISF alliance candidate Ashok Bhattacharya have started campaigning in full swing in Siliguri.

Meanwhile the last two days have witnessed widespread resentment in the saffron camp over choice of candidates in the Alipurduar and Kalchini constituencies in Dooars.

BJP has fielded Ashok Lahiri from Alipurduar and Bishal Lama in Kalchini. Lahiri is a former chief economic advisor to the Government of India and is based in Delhi. Lama had crossed over to the BJP recently from GJM (Bimal.)

Local BJP leaders claim that they had not been consulted regarding the selection of candidates.

"We don't know what's happening or how candidates are being selected. We also don't know why the candidate for Falakata is not being announced," stated the BJP leader not wanting to be named.