Top BJP leaders associated with the party’s election committee have started “thinking” about “proper nomination” of a candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, sources have said.

The information comes after a section of people in both the Hills and the plains has aggressively expressed its unhappiness over the performance of sitting MP SS Ahluwalia in his past five-year term while his comments on the issue of some Gorkhas having Nepali citizenship and the recent air strikes in Pakistan have added fuel to the fire.

Following some media reports, discussions are going on in and around Siliguri on whether the BJP will field a new candidate just as Ahluwalia replaced the then sitting MP Jaswant Singh back in 2014.

“After suffering from Swine Flu, Ahluwalia-ji came here for the inauguration of Central government projects, including the railway project and digital village in his parliamentary constituency and to make preparations to contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Darjeeling seat. But having lost patience, he commented on sensitive issues and controversy cropped up. Now, the situation has changed and no one can say who will contest from Darjeeling on a BJP ticket,” said a BJP leader associated with the Siliguri organizational district.

Protesting Ahluwalia’s comment on the ‘son of the soil’ issue, Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha leader Binoy Tamang and others have vehemently criticised him.

As a mark of protest against Ahluwalia, a 12-minute video clip went viral and an effigy of the Darjeeling MP was burned in the Hills on Saturday and Sunday.

“Many of those who are demanding a ‘Bhumiputra’ (son of the soil) as candidate for the Darjeeling LS seat were born in Nepal,” Ahluwalia had said in Siliguri last week. Though the MP explained his stance and apologized, he also accused the media for distorting his statement.

In his explanation and without naming anyone, Ahluwalia also said that his statement earlier was targeted at only “two persons- one whose father joined the British Army with the help of a Nepali citizenship, and the other who, with the help of a Nepali citizenship certificate, worked in Dubai until a few years ago.”

“I feel bad that my statements hurt the sentiments of several Gorkha brothers and sisters and I sincerely apologise for that,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

Tamang, who has been vocal about reviewing the Indo-Nepal Treaty-1950 before demanding Gorkhaland, had to release documents in public domain to prove that his father was originally Indian.

“Why did Ahluwalia make such comments that have hurt his party’s image in both the Hills and the plains? Has the party leadership already denied him a ticket?” wondered a former CPI-M activist on Hill Cart Road.

It is also learned that a group of state committee leaders of the BJP are not happy with the role of Ahluwalia.

“In fact, he did nothing to retain the winning seat of Darjeeling even as the party’s national president has aimed to win at least 23 seats in this state. The party does not want to give up a winning seat in Bengal,” said a BJP leader associated with the state committee.

“It is true that the administration did not extend cooperation in implementing development projects under the MP’s local area development fund, but has he protested against it and hit the streets? Being a union minister of state, he was in a position to visit the Hills despite alleged non-cooperation from the local administration. No one can take his excuses. Had he wanted to visit the Hills he would have found an alternate way,” said a BJP activist who looks after the Naxalbari area.

Another state BJP member on condition of anonymity said, “If Mr Ahluwalia contests the polls here, he needs to appease the Hill people as most of them are still supporting the BJP. Any emotional assurance in relation to Gorkhaland may have a bearing on the prospects of other Lok Sabha seats in north Bengal and as well as south Bengal.”

A section of BJP leaders now wants to replace Ahluwalia with another suitable candidate to retain the Darjeeling LS seat. Meanwhile, fugitive GJMM leader Bimal Gurung has said he and his associates will decide on the elections soon.