Cong names former Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh head Munish Tamang as Darjeeling candidate

Tamang said he was not consulted regarding the decision to bring Munish into the Congress fold, nor was he informed about Munishs candidacy for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency.Tamang emphasised that he did not support or endorse Munish in any capacity, expressing strong disapproval of the decision to include Munish and Ajoy Edward, the chief of HP, in the opposition India bloc.

The Congress on Tuesday announced Dr Munish Tamang as its candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat where voting is scheduled to take place in the second phase of polling on April 26.

Tamang, the former national president of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) who joined the Congress in New Delhi last week, will be supported by the Hamro Party (HP), party sources said.

The HP, considered one of the principal opposition forces in the Hills, has joined the opposition INDIA bloc.

Tamang, originally from Kalimpong, is a professor at Delhi University and has been associated with the apolitical BGP for the past twenty years.

The BJP has nominated sitting MP Raju Bista while the Trinamool Congress has fielded Gopal Lama.

BJP's Kurseong MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma has announced that he would contest as an independent against the party's official nominee from the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat.

Binoy Tamang, the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) general secretary and in-charge of the party's affairs in the Hills, expressed opposition to the candidacy of Munish. Tamang said he was not consulted regarding the decision to bring Munish into the Congress fold, nor was he informed about Munish's candidacy for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency.

Tamang emphasised that he did not support or endorse Munish in any capacity, expressing strong disapproval of the decision to include Munish and Ajoy Edward, the chief of HP, in the opposition India bloc. ''I was not taken into confidence by the district and state committees regarding these. I will not support or help him (Munish) in any situation,'' Tamang told PTI. Tamang accused both of them of disrespecting Congress leaders in Darjeeling and the state.

''I strongly condemn the joining of Ajoy Edward (chief of HP) and Munish Tamang as both have been insulting the Congress leaders in Darjeeling and the state,'' he added.

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