Darjeeling Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 LIVE: Who will be victorious in the Hills this time - BJP, Trinamool or Congress?

Darjeeling Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: Darjeeling, once known as the ‘Queen of Hills’, voted in the second phase on April 26 for the Lok Sabha elections this year. The constituency has seven assembly segments with three in the hills and four in the plains. These are – Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Kurseong, Matigara-Naxalbari, Siliguri, Phansidewa and Chopra.

For the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the BJP has nominated sitting MP Manipur-born Raju Bista, while the Trinamool Congress fielded Gopal Lama, a former bureaucrat. Congress nominated Munish Tamang. Kurseong MLA from BJP, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, is fighting the general elections this time as an independent.

Exit polls

India Today-My Axis exit poll showed a significant increase in BJP seats in the state, estimating 26 to 31 seats for the party. The poll allocated 11 to 14 seats to CM Mamata Banerjee-led TMC. BJP is also expected to gain more support from SC/ST and OBC voters. 

News18 Poll Hub's exit poll on June 1, 2024, projected BJP/NDA to win 21-24 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Trinamool Congress is expected to secure 18-21 seats. News 24-Today's Chanakya predicted a significant surge for the BJP in West Bengal, projecting them to secure 24 out of the 42 parliamentary seats. The Trinamool Congress is expected to win 17 seats, while the Congress is projected to secure one seat in the upcoming elections. Republic-PMARQ poll indicated the BJP leading with 22 seats, followed closely by TMC with 20 seats. No seats are projected for Congress, CPM, or other parties. 

TMC, however, has dismissed the surveys as inaccurate. 

Top candidates

While Bista has the backing of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) and the Bimal Gurung faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), Trinamool candidate Gopal Lama is backed by the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, which governs the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

Bista received a boost when local leader Binay Tamang, who switched from TMC to Congress five months ago, publicly supported him over party candidate Munish Tamang.  This move came with the backing of former GTA chairman Bimal Gurung from Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

Since 2009, the BJP has dominated the hill district. It has won Darjeeling thrice: Jaswant Singh in 2009, SS Ahluwalia in 2014, and Raju Bista in 2019. Previously, Congress and CPM were dominant until the 1980s, with regional parties like GNLF gaining influence between from 1990s to the early 2000s.

While Bista has been re-nominated from the seat, his predecessors, Singh and Ahluwalia, held the seat for one term each.

Darjeeling Constituency in 2019 Lok Sabha elections

Raju Bista from the BJP emerged victorious in the Darjeeling constituency during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with 750,067 votes. Amar Singh Rai from Trinamool Congress secured 336,624 votes. The total number of votes cast in the constituency was 1,269,666.Darjeeling Constituency in 2014 Lok Sabha elections

BJP’s S.S. Ahluwalia won the Darjeeling by defeating football star Bhaichung Bhutia, who contested as a Trinamool Congress candidate, by over 197,239 votes.

In the 2021 assembly elections, Trinamool could only win in Chopra. Five assembly constituencies are with the BJP.

Voters and issues at a glance

Darjeeling is a general seat and is not reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) or Scheduled Tribes (STs). The hills are home to the Gorkhas, Lepchas, Sherpas, and Bhutias.

For decades, the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland has been a major issue in the Darjeeling hills. In 2017, a 100-day violent agitation resulted in 11 deaths. Since 2009, the BJP has won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat by promising a permanent solution, yet concrete actions remain elusive. Before the elections, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) issued an ultimatum to the saffron camp, demanding a resolution to the hill problem as a pre-condition for its support in the elections.

PM Narendra Modi, in a rally in north Bengal, had hinted that a political solution would be considered this time. Home Minister Amit Shah, in an audio message, also said that the Gorkhas will get rightful justice.  

Besides statehood, minimum wages of the tea garden workers and the shutdown of tea gardens are other major issues. As the tea garden workers of the region grapple with poverty and wage issues, the Trinamool Congress has distributed land deeds to the workers, provided them alternative housing and given them benefits of Swasthya Sathi health cards and other social welfare schemes.