Siliguri: Former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla is preparing to take the political plunge. On a public outreach campaign in Darjeeling, he told ThePrint that he is ready to fight elections “if the people of Darjeeling want me to”.
“I have not said this to anyone before,” he added after a pause.
Shringla was born in Mumbai in May 1962, and his parents are from Darjeeling.
He retired from his diplomacy career — his nearly four-decade stint saw him represent India at the United Nations, besides serving as envoy to the US and Bangladesh, among other key posts — in 2022.
Last year, he served as the chief coordinator of India’s G20 presidency, handpicked by PM Narendra Modi for the assignment.
Currently, he is the president of the Darjeeling Welfare Society, an organisation he founded to develop the ‘Queen of the Hills’. The society was started in 2014 and registered in 2021, during the Covid pandemic.
On recent visits to Darjeeling, he has been seen out and about in an effort to establish public outreach.
On 14 January, he offered prayers at Siliguri’s Bharat Seva Ashram, where the shrine’s Maharaj ji introduced him to devotees with paeans to the work he had done to “uplift the Hindus of Bangladesh during his tenure as the high commissioner”.
Come Makar Sankranti, he spent the day with Rajbongshis — categorised as Scheduled Castes in Bengal — settled near the Bagdogra Airport. He attended a prayer ceremony and distributed blankets to the poor, and even picked up a ladle as he helped women prepare prasad at a temple.
On other days, he set out for walks on Siliguri’s foggy and chilly mornings, meeting citizens, exchanging ideas and sharing cups of tea.
When he ran into Shringla, Dhruv Dhar, a local resident, complained that there is no dialysis centre at the government hospital, and patients had to spend lakhs at private hospitals.
“Dr Shringla is a man with a vision,” Dhar later told ThePrint. “He is highly educated, understands our problems and we would want him to be our representative in the Parliament. He will deliver on his promises.”
Prosenjit Pal, a former BJP leader from Siliguri seen at Shringla’s public events, said the former diplomat’s candidature would be widely accepted by the people of Darjeeling.
“His geopolitical knowledge… he belongs to Darjeeling… he is here to stay, he is getting such a positive response from the public and his direct link with the Centre would be hugely beneficial for this constituency,” he added. “Dr Shringla should be the BJP candidate.”
While there seems to be some support for Shringla’s candidature as an MP nominee in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the road to the ticket isn’t simple.
Political analysts point to the resistance likely from the supporters of incumbent Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, and the local BJP says a change of candidate isn’t on the agenda.
BJP district president Kalyan Kumar Dewan told ThePrint they are happy with Bista, describing him as “proactive”.
“Anyone talking about fighting for the BJP has to be a BJP leader first. I don’t understand this buzz,” he added. “Dr Shringla is a high-profile intellectual but I have never seen him here before. Raju Bista is a proactive MP, we are happy with his work here. Let the party announce the candidate first. We want Raju Bista as our MP.”
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A significant seat
Darjeeling is a significant Lok Sabha seat, not just for West Bengal but also nationally. It comprises the hills, a part of Kalimpong district and the Chopra assembly seat of Uttar Dinajpur district.
The location makes it significant: Siliguri is the gateway to northeast India, and Darjeeling has Sikkim to its north, Nepal to the west, Bhutan to the east, a part of Tibet to the north, and Bangladesh to the south and southeast.
A massive tourist attraction for its tea and Himalayan glory, Darjeeling has been won by the BJP three times consecutively since 2009.
Darjeeling is dominated by the Gorkha community, and there have been demands for a separate ‘Gorkhaland’ state.
The BJP has in its manifestos promised a “permanent political solution” to the matter, but has failed to deliver it so far. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, has vowed to safeguard the hills and keep them attached to West Bengal. With elections knocking on the door, the ‘Gorkhaland’ issue is likely to be reignited as well.
Asked about the issue, Shringla said “dialogue with all stakeholders needs to continue to understand the long-standing demand”.
“What the permanent political solution will be needs to be framed in a manner beneficial for the development of the hills. As for Siliguri, I would want it to be a smart city, this will also help Siliguri get assistance from the Centre to become a top-notch city in the country as it has high potential given its strategic location,” he added.
‘Anyone can fight polls’
Political analyst Snigdhendu Bhattacharya said Shringla’s programmes indicate his interest in bagging the Darjeeling Lok Sabha ticket, but added that his possible candidature would face opposition from Bista loyalists.
“Since 2009, all BJP MPs from Darjeeling have been outsiders, though Bista tried to strike a chord by citing his Gorkha identity. Dr Shringla, too, has highlighted his local roots. However, given that the pro-TMC Anit Thapa-led BGPM has displayed a significant influence in the recent elections, voices within the BJP seeking a local candidate are expected to get louder.”
He was referring to Thapa’s Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha winning the elections for the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in 2022. The GTA administers West Bengal’s Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong sub-divisions.
Bista, although a Gorkha, hails from Manipur. He was preceded as MP by former Union minister S.S. Ahluwalia.
Speaking to ThePrint, BJP MP Raju Bista said “India is a democratic country and everyone has the freedom to do as they please, as long as it is within the ambit of the law”.
“Anyone can fight polls,” he added. “I met Mr Shringla once in 2022, [meeting] concerned the preparations for the G20 Tourism Summit to be organised in Darjeeling and Sikkim region.”
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Vision for Darjeeling
Shringla counts as his alma maters some of India’s most prestigious institutions. He did his schooling at Ajmer’s Mayo College, and his graduation from Delhi University’s St Stephen’s College.
He cleared the civil services exam in 1984 with a nationwide rank of 15.
Apart from this, he holds an honorary DLitt from Sikkim’s ICFAI University.
A field hockey player since his college days, he also underwent mountaineering training at Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi.
Speaking to ThePrint in Siliguri, Shringla spoke of Darjeeling with deep fondness, saying the Darjeeling Welfare Society is dedicated to its development.
Welfare of the youth and women, employment and healthcare, he added, are the immediate focus areas for him.
“When I see Darjeeling, I see immense potential, but due to the Centre-state tussle, the people are losing out on the benefits and opportunities,” he added, referring to the strained ties between the Modi government and the West Bengal administration led by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.
Shringla said he wants to bring in the “Sports Authority of India for the youth who have the talent but no space to practice”.
“We have tied up with the Melinda Gates Foundation to find an alternative income source for the women working at tea gardens here. We delivered 270 appointment letters in our ‘rozgar mela (employment fair)’ held in Darjeeling, he said.
Healthcare, he added, “needs greater attention here because citizens have to travel to Siliguri or Kolkata for better hospitals”.
This report has been updated for a correction in Shringla’s profile
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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