While Raju Bista has the backing of a sizeable segment of the party, B.P. Sharma, the party MLA from Kurseong, has staked his claim as a 'bhumiputra' (son of the soil). Adding to the mix, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a former foreign secretary who is from the region, has been reaching out to people
The announcement comes days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J P Nadda visited the state and held several organisational meetings with the West Bengal unit of the party and formed the election committee.