The BJP is banking on the “equal treatment” of all communities and the “unprecedented” reign of peace to get Muslim votes in Assam in the Lok Sabha election, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Elections to the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam are scheduled in three phases. Muslims are not much of a factor in the five eastern Assam seats going to polls in the first phase on April 19, but they account for more than 50% of the voters in Barpeta, Dhubri, Karimganj and Nagaon constituencies that vote in the second and third phases scheduled on April 26 and May 7. Muslims constitute almost 40% of the voters in the Silchar constituency and more than 30% in Darrang-Udalguri.
“We have not discriminated against Muslims. Developmental projects and beneficiary schemes have been distributed equally to all communities, including Muslims, who I do not think want more than what they have received,” Mr. Sarma told journalists after a meeting of the NDA constituents in Udalguri, about 105km northeast of Guwahati.
“For the first time, the minorities are getting a taste of good governance and equal treatment in the true spirit of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas and sabka prayas’. And unlike the communal violence in the past, they are living in peace and not facing any problem now,” he said.
Udalguri, headquarters of the Udalguri district within the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), had experienced waves of communal violence more than a decade ago.
“We hope to get the support of the Muslims in this election. If they do not vote for us, we will analyse to find out where we fell short,” Mr. Sarma said while campaigning for the BJP’s Dilip Saikia, who seeks to retain the Darrang-Udalguri (Mangaldoi earlier) constituency.
The constituency encompasses 11 assembly segments, six of them in the BTR where the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) heads a coalition government with the BJP and Gana Suraksha Party.
Target 22
The Chief Minister, whose predictions for past election results were almost accurate, said he expects the BJP and its allies – Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and UPPL – to win 13 Lok Sabha seats in Assam. The BJP won nine Lok Sabha seats in 2019 while its allies drew a blank.
“I am confident of victory in 11 seats while our chances in two more are high. We will think about Dhubri later,” he said.
Dhubri, where Muslims constitute more than 70% of the voters, is held by Badruddin Ajmal of the All India United Democratic Front.
Mr. Sarma said the BJP and its allies in the NDA have set their sights on 22 of the 25 constituencies across the eight States in the Northeast. Of these 25 seats, the BJP is contesting 18, the AGP and National People’s Party two each, the UPPL, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, and Naga People’s Front one each.
