GUWAHATI: While the Congress-led opposition alliance has vowed to topple the Assam chief minister and the BJP-led NDA government, Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that the opposition has no agenda and the people of the state are fully behind the ruling party, except for “Bangladeshi infiltrators”.Assam Chief Minister said on Wednesday that they (the Congress-led opposition alliance) have no agenda as they have seen what they have given to the people in the past 60 years.
“We have completely transformed Assam. Today, people see a new Assam based on our deep culture and tradition. People fully agree bjpexcept Bangladeshi infiltrators. The local indigenous Indians will not vote for Congress,” Sarma said.He further said, “Who wants to go to Congress? Congress cannot form government in India, they can form government in Pakistan. So how do I go to Congress? Congress can never form government in India. When Congress forms government, it will be either in Pakistan or Bangladesh.”On the other hand, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, who leads the opposition alliance, said there is huge enthusiasm among the people as they see they are getting a historic opportunity to oust the decade-old BJP government. “The government here practices a politics of fear and offers an opportunity to get out of fear and we stand with the people. People are keen on change. In a way, people are imagining a new Assam,” Gaurav Gogoi said.The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced that polling in all 126 constituencies in Assam will be held on April 9 and counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.In the 2021 Assembly elections, the NDA consisting of the BJP, AGP and the United People’s Liberal Party (UPPL) won 75 seats, of which the BJP alone won 60 seats. The Congress and AIUDF formed a grand alliance with the BPF and the Communist Party, but the alliance performed poorly, winning only 16 seats out of 126.In 2021, the voter turnout rate reached 86.2%, with more than 22 million registered voters.
