Harsh Vardhan Shringla, former foreign secretary and one of the driving forces behind the success of India’s G20 presidency, is making waves in the Darjeeling hills with his multi-pronged outreach initiatives which have intensified speculation about his candidature as the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll nominee from the region.
The BJP, which has won the Darjeeling constituency three times in a row since 2009, is yet to announce its candidate for the seat.
“During the last election, the BJP had won by a margin of more than 4 lakh votes from Darjeeling. But their delay in announcing the name of the Darjeeling candidate has created much interest in the nominee.... Add to that Shringla’s outreach. You can guess that all eyes are on who would be the BJP candidate from Darjeeling,” said a political observer.
Even though he has not joined the BJP or explicitly expressed his interest in the seat, many observers believe Shringla, who traces his roots to Darjeeling, is a frontrunner for the seat. The buzz that he was one of the most trusted officers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the ministry of external affairs has added to the speculation surrounding his name.
“The delay in announcing the name for the Darjeeling seat could also be because of the Shringla factor. Even though Shringla has not joined the BJP, his action speaks louder than words,” said a BJP worker from Darjeeling.
Shringla, who was ranked 15th in the UPSC’s All India Civil Service Examination in 1984, has worked on major diplomatic issues as foreign secretary right from the fallout of the Covid pandemic to the India-China border issues in Ladakh, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the military takeover in Myanmar.
The diplomat, who until recently was also the chief coordinator of India’s G20 presidency, has spent most of his career interacting with top administrators across the world. Now he is spending time with the grassroots to “give back to his people”.
“His activities are not just confined to major towns like Darjeeling and Siliguri. Recently he was seen engaging with people from Ambari Lodhabari village in Chopra, which is relatively remote,” said a source.
Shringla is interacting with members of civil society, politicians and religious heads and is being well received by all sections.
Recently, Shringla was spotted engaging in cleanliness drives in Kali Mandir in the Siliguri district hospital.
One of the major initiatives taken up by Shringla is for the economic revitalisation of tea garden workers. “Shringla, the president of the Darjeeling Welfare Society (DWS), has collaborated with the Gates Foundation to create livelihood opportunities for tea garden workers in the Darjeeling district,” said a source.
Shringla is also investing his energy in this initiative which is making a significant impact in the region.
“Just recently, the DWS team facilitated the launch of a farm kit distribution and trainee appreciation ceremony at the Birsa Munda Maidan in Panighata and Sai Community Hall in Chenga busty, respectively,” said a source.
Shringla has prepared ground for philanthropic support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and has started work to cover more than 20,000 households in the Darjeeling hills.
“The plan is to come up with alternative livelihood plans for families of tea workers, especially in closed tea gardens,” said a source.
The former career diplomat’s engagement with students and youths has left a mark.
Recently, Shringla’s Darjeeling Welfare Society (DWS) recently organised a career fair in Darjeeling where 270 youths from the region were offered jobs.
Calls and messages to Shringla from this newspaper went unanswered.