BJP puts in motion gameplan Assam with two quick moves to outwit ruling Congress
NEW DELHI: With
Assam being the next big electoral bet for the BJP after it gets over with the battle for
Bihar, the party has begun its preparations on the ground with two major moves already. The first move was to wean away
Congress leader
Himanta Biswa Sarma, whose famed organizational skills helped Congress win the state in the last assembly polls. The second big move was the Centre's notification a week ago to grant citizenship to Bengali Hindu refugees who comprise a significant chunk of the population in the state.
The granting of citizenship to Bengali Hindus who have crossed over from Bangladesh is expected to benefit the BJP by consolidating Bengali speaking voters in the state. Their vote was split between the Congress and BJP for the assembly polls, though trends showed they had swung towards the BJP in the parliamentary elections. If the consolidation does happen, the Congress is going to be hit hard, said a senior party leader from the state.
As for Sarma's crossing over, the feeling in the BJP camp is mixed. The central and state party leaders agree that the biggest gain for BJP is the damage he will cause to the rival Congress camp. BJP took this risk at the cost of upsetting some of its own party leaders and workers who are wary of being overlooked with the new recruitment. Also the fact that Sarma has been linked to some controversies and does not enjoy a clean image could come in the way of BJP's anti-corruption campaign against the
Tarun Gogoi government in the state.
Senior BJP leaders, who are not opposing Sarma's entry into the party but are concerned about how workers who have been loyal to BJP for years will take it, explain how Sarma's case is not the same as that of sports minister
Sarbananda Sonowal, who had crossed over to BJP from AGP, but fitted in comfortably. Sonowal had good relations with BJP leaders even earlier and had gradually built his bridges in the party, but Sarma has been a high profile and flamboyant leader who may not be content with a smaller role in his new party. He has also been known to bitterly oppose BJP leaders while he was in Congress.
A senior BJP leader explained why the BJP took a long time, but finally decided to take Sarma in. "He (Sarma) knows the ropes... the ins and outs of the Congress in the state. More than anything else he will hurt the Congress and it is a moral victory for BJP."
BJP is also hoping that with Sarma on its side, 12 to 14 of the 126 assembly seats that Bodo People's Front (BPF) wins regularly will also easily side with BJP as the former Congress strongman has a good equation with them and has been instrumental in getting the tribal MLAs to tilt towards Congress.
BJP is also counting on the sliding fortunes of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), from where many important leaders have broken away and joined the BJP. The AGP votes are likely to shift to BJP according to calculations by party seniors. With all these factors in play, BJP leaders say that the party needs to win at least 45 to 50 seats on its own and limit Congress to 35 seats, to form its first government in the state when it goes to polls early next year.
BJP puts in motion gameplan Assam with two quick moves to outwit ruling Congress - The Economic Times
P.S.: My prediction {BJP- 50 + BPF-15} (most likely post poll combo)= 65 (majority figure 64)
