‘Who wants to go to Congress?’: Himanta questions Opposition’s prospects ahead of Assam polls

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma sharpened his attack on the Congress ahead of the Assembly elections, questioning the party’s relevance and ability to return to power.

“Who wants to go to Congress?” Sarma said, arguing that the party lacks the strength to form a government at the national level. “Congress can’t form its government in India… they can form it in Pakistan… or Bangladesh,” he added, in a pointed political swipe.

The Chief Minister maintained that the Congress-led Opposition alliance has failed to present a credible agenda for voters. “They have no agenda, because in the last 60 years, what they have provided the people have seen,” he said, asserting that the BJP government has “completely turned around Assam”.

Highlighting what he described as widespread public support, Sarma claimed, “People are completely with the BJP, except ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’,” adding that “no local indigenous Indian people will vote for Congress”.

On the other hand, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi said the Opposition alliance is witnessing “tremendous enthusiasm” among voters who are looking for change after a decade of BJP rule.

“The government here practises politics of fear, and an opportunity is being provided to break free from it,” he said. “The enthusiasm is for change… people are, in a way, imagining a new Assam.”

Polling for all 126 Assembly constituencies is scheduled for 9 April, with counting set for 4 May, according to the Election Commission of India.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the BJP-led NDA — comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party, Asom Gana Parishad and United People's Party Liberal — secured 75 seats, including 60 won by the BJP. The Congress and its allies, including the All India United Democratic Front and Bodoland People's Front, managed 16 seats.

The previous election recorded a turnout of 86.2 per cent, with more than 2.2 crore registered voters.