Darjeeling: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) heavyweight Jaswant Singh may have travelled from the deserts to the hills to contest a sure Lok Sabha seat, but in the process, he fell in love with something he had not bargained for.
"The hills have won my heart. I've lost it to them. It will be difficult for me to regain it at this age," said Jaswant.
Whether it is political expediency or genuine love, his voters are convinced that Singh's arrival is providential.
"He has told us already that he may have been born in Rajasthan but God has brought him at this age on the lap of Himalayas so the rest of his life will be committed for the people of Darjeeling and Gorkhaland. Only then he says his soul rest in peace," said a Darjeeling resident.
A day after polling, Singh reiterated his promise.
"I don't have it in my pocket to give it them. It's a constitutional requirement but I will work and I should certainly work towards fulfilling that constitutional requirements in all its aspects which I can do if NDA returns to office," said Jaswant.
Jaswant Singh now calls himself a 'ghar-jamai', the bride being the Queen of the Hills, Darjeeling, but will he and his party be able to deliver the century old demand of Gorkhaland, particularly when the state unit of his party, the Congress and the Left Front in West Bengal, are vehemently opposing it.