We met Advani for pledging support for Gorkhaland: Gurung

Putting at rest speculation about the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha pledging support for BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from the only Lok Sabha seat in Darjeeling, the party said it had just met the BJP top brass to pitch for their cause.

Putting at rest speculation about the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) pledging support for BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from the only Lok Sabha seat in Darjeeling, the party on Thursday said it had just met the BJP top brass to pitch for their cause.

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"It was merely a courtesy call and no talks were held about our supporting the BJP candidate from Darjeeling constituency seat," GJM President Bimal Gurung told PTI.

Denying talks about any poll alliance between the two parties, Gurung said his meeting with BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani was "merely a courtesy call".

"We are running a broad based campaign for our demands for a separate Gorkhaland. The meeting was for that purpose...To establish contacts in the BJP and also lobbying for our cause," he added.

Asked if he had also had consultations with party president Rajnath Singh, Gurung said "we will come up with some explanations soon".

GJM activists had earlier pledged support from AICC president Sonia Gandhi through a representation headed by Darjeeling's Congress MP Dawa Norbula.