Darjeeling, enclosed in the hills was one of the favourite destinations of famous writer Mark Twain when he visited in 1896. The famous writer of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Swayer fame described his journey in the "toy train" in glowing terms.

The hilly enclosure has now hit the headlines again as <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/after-2019-lok-sabha-elections-the-kingmakers-are-likely-to-be-from-the-south-209566">TMC and BJP square off</a> against each other on April 18th in the second phase of elections in West Bengal.

BJP had won the 2009 and 2014 parliamentary elections from Darjeeling after Jaswant Singh and Surinder Singh Ahluwalia held out a challenge from the Opposition TMC in the area.

The hill town had hit the headlines in 2017 during the Gorkhaland agitation when it undertook a&nbsp;104-day strike to press from an independent state. The agitation has now ebbed away with only remnants remaining.

This time the BJP has fielded ex-Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) leader Raju Singh Bista against TMC's Amar Singh Rai. Bisht has the support of GNLF and Bimal Gurung faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) making him a hot favourite to clinch a third term for the party, however, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is leaving no stone unturned to win back the seat which it hasn't won so far ever since its inception in 1998.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had addressed a poll rally in Darjeeling as she took on the BJP head on lashing out at party president Amit Shah saying, “Dilli se aaya, halwa khake chala gaya (he came from Delhi, ate sweets and went away).”

“You help me win and we will capture Delhi. The TMC will form the next government in Delhi. We will win all of 42 seats,” the West Bengal chief minister told the people present at the rally.

The ethnically diverse West Bengal constituency is dominated by Lepcha, Tamang and other minorities who are now eager for development after years of agitation and confusion.

Both the TMC and BJP have pitched for basic amenities including minimum wage for tea workers who form a major chunk of the vote bank in the area.

Amit Shah in his poll rally in Kalimpong emphasised the importance of the National Register of Citizens(NRC) and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

“We have promised in our manifesto that once Narendra Modi forms the government again, we will implement the NRC across the country. We will remove every single infiltrator from the country,” the BJP president said, adding,"Didi (Mamata Banerjee) keeps telling that Gorkhas will be inconvenienced once the NRC is in place. These are lies. And no one can question them (Gorkhas) on their citizenship."

“Only those who have faced religious persecution will be granted citizenship,” he asserted.

Darjeeling has become a sort of ego tussle for the BJP and the ruling TMC with both not ready to give an inch.

The area which is strategically located on the Nepal, Bhutan and China border has become an important beachhead for the BJP in its attempt capture the state, a scenario which Mamata's TMC is bent on resisting.

Another BJP victory here would come as&nbsp;a major setback for the TMC, however, as polling day nears it could be anybody's game.

Darjeeling, enclosed in the hills was one of the favourite destinations of famous writer Mark Twain when he visited in 1896. The famous writer of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Swayer fame described his journey in the "toy train" in glowing terms.

Darjeeling, enclosed in the hills was one of the favourite destinations of famous writer Mark Twain when he visited in 1896. The famous writer of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Swayer fame described his journey in the "toy train" in glowing terms. The hilly enclosure has now hit the headlines again as TMC and BJP square off against each other on April 18th in the second phase of elections in West Bengal. BJP had won the 2009 and 2014 parliamentary elections from Darjeeling after Jaswant Singh and Surinder Singh Ahluwalia held out a challenge from the Opposition TMC in the area. The hill town had hit the headlines in 2017 during the Gorkhaland agitation when it undertook a 104-day strike to press from an independent state. The agitation has now ebbed away with only remnants remaining. This time the BJP has fielded ex-Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) leader Raju Singh Bista against TMC's Amar Singh Rai. Bisht has the support of GNLF and Bimal Gurung faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) making him a hot favourite to clinch a third term for the party, however, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is leaving no stone unturned to win back the seat which it hasn't won so far ever since its inception in 1998. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had addressed a poll rally in Darjeeling as she took on the BJP head on lashing out at party president Amit Shah saying, “Dilli se aaya, halwa khake chala gaya (he came from Delhi, ate sweets and went away).” “You help me win and we will capture Delhi. The TMC will form the next government in Delhi. We will win all of 42 seats,” the West Bengal chief minister told the people present at the rally. The ethnically diverse West Bengal constituency is dominated by Lepcha, Tamang and other minorities who are now eager for development after years of agitation and confusion. Both the TMC and BJP have pitched for basic amenities including minimum wage for tea workers who form a major chunk of the vote bank in the area. Amit Shah in his poll rally in Kalimpong emphasised the importance of the National Register of Citizens(NRC) and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. “We have promised in our manifesto that once Narendra Modi forms the government again, we will implement the NRC across the country. We will remove every single infiltrator from the country,” the BJP president said, adding,"Didi (Mamata Banerjee) keeps telling that Gorkhas will be inconvenienced once the NRC is in place. These are lies. And no one can question them (Gorkhas) on their citizenship." “Only those who have faced religious persecution will be granted citizenship,” he asserted. Darjeeling has become a sort of ego tussle for the BJP and the ruling TMC with both not ready to give an inch. The area which is strategically located on the Nepal, Bhutan and China border has become an important beachhead for the BJP in its attempt capture the state, a scenario which Mamata's TMC is bent on resisting. Another BJP victory here would come as a major setback for the TMC, however, as polling day nears it could be anybody's game.

Second phase polls: BJP, TMC eye Darjeeling in West Bengal battle

West Bengal police have said the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha are preparing for a prolonged underground armed movement for a separate state, and are taking the help of &quot;Maoists from neighbouring countries&quot;&nbsp;to do so.&nbsp;

The police said the GJM is hiring the Maoists to train their cadres.&nbsp;

&quot;We have inputs from intelligence agencies that Maoists from neighbouring countries have been hired by the GJM. And it may target government properties and senior police and administrative officials so as to further aggravate the situation,&quot; PTI quoted ADG (Law and order) Anuj Sharma as saying.&nbsp;

PTI added that the GJM leadership has refuted the police&#39;s allegations as &quot;completely baseless&quot;. &nbsp;

&quot;These are completely baseless statements. These statements are being made to malign us and derail the democratic movement,&quot; it quoted GJM general secretary Roshan Giri as saying.

But it added that a senior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the GJM had hired 25-30 Maoists mercenaries to train its cadres.

&quot;The GJM has a huge cache of arms and ammunition. They have stockpiled arms for the last few years. And we have intelligence reports that they are preparing for underground armed movement in the hills,&quot; it quoted the official as saying.

It added that another senior official said the government is &quot;prepared for any situation and steps are being taken to tackle any sort of armed struggle&quot;.

'We have inputs from intelligence agencies that Maoists from neighbouring countries have been hired by the GJM,' ADG (Law and order) Anuj Sharma said

West Bengal police have said the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha are preparing for a prolonged underground armed movement for a separate state, and are taking the help of "Maoists from neighbouring countries" to do so. The police said the GJM is hiring the Maoists to train their cadres. "We have inputs from intelligence agencies that Maoists from neighbouring countries have been hired by the GJM. And it may target government properties and senior police and administrative officials so as to further aggravate the situation," PTI quoted ADG (Law and order) Anuj Sharma as saying. PTI added that the GJM leadership has refuted the police's allegations as "completely baseless". "These are completely baseless statements. These statements are being made to malign us and derail the democratic movement," it quoted GJM general secretary Roshan Giri as saying. But it added that a senior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the GJM had hired 25-30 Maoists mercenaries to train its cadres. "The GJM has a huge cache of arms and ammunition. They have stockpiled arms for the last few years. And we have intelligence reports that they are preparing for underground armed movement in the hills," it quoted the official as saying. It added that another senior official said the government is "prepared for any situation and steps are being taken to tackle any sort of armed struggle".

Gorkhaland agitation: WB Police claim GJM hiring foreign Maoists to help prep for armed movement

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Second phase polls: BJP, TMC eye Darjeeling in West Bengal battle

Gorkhaland agitation: WB Police claim GJM hiring foreign Maoists to help prep for armed movement