GUWAHATI: The ruling BJP in Assam has sounded the Assembly election bugle from Barak Valley, pledging to win over 100 seats in polls while assuring protection of the state’s indigenous communities, their culture and identity.
BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, who is on a two-day visit to the state, addressed the “Vijay Sankalpa Sanmelan” rally in Silchar on Monday afternoon and attributed the party’s polls success since 2016 to the achievements of Sarbananda Sonowal-led BJP government over the past four and a half years.
“I congratulate the people of Assam and the government for making the party formidable in the state. It gives me immense satisfaction to say that since our party formed government, BJP has won all elections in the state, be it the Lok Sabha elections, panchayat elections, Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections or the Tiwa Autonomous Council elections. This is no ordinary achievement,” Nadda said.
The Assam Assembly polls are scheduled in April-May this year.
“The best part is that the scenario is the same in the other parts of the country, including Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and Northeast, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, where BJP has achieved success in elections,” he said.
The BJP national president also referred to the party’s progress in the Northeast, including Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh where it heads the government.
Regarding Assam, which has seen several pressure groups unite against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Nadda said the saffron party has taken the onus on itself to protect the state’s culture, language, identity.
“BJP has preserved Assam’s culture and language. In fact, during the Assam Agitation, our leader Atal Behari Vajpayee had raised his voice for the state,” he said.
The BJP leader referred to the Bodo agitation, recounting that over 4000 lives have been lost since then.
“However, things have changed and the signing of the Bodo peace accord under the leadership of the BJP governments at the Centre and state, has ushered in peace in Bodoland Territorial Region,” he said.
Nadda also spoke about the rehabilitation of displaced Bru families in Tripura after a historic agreement and attributed the development to the BJP-led government at the Centre.
He also pointed out that various central schemes have empowered women in Assam, be it making the state “open defecation free” or the money deposited in the accounts of underprivileged women.
The BJP leader further praised Assam’s community surveillance to reduce COVID mortality rates to 0.47 percent.
Earlier on Monday afternoon Nadda was welcomed at Silchar airport by thousands of party members and supporters.
In his speech, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that BJP has delivered its 2016 poll promises to bring all-round development in the state.