Assam BJP criticises 'non-existent' Opposition in Rajya Sabha election

The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, March 5 said the political landscape of the state has effectively become “opposition-less,” accusing rival parties of retreating from the electoral battlefield during the recent Rajya Sabha election for three seats from Assam.

In a strongly worded statement, Assam BJP spokesperson Kamal Kumar Medhi said the much-talked-about alliance among opposition parties exists only in media narratives and has failed to translate into any real political coordination on the ground.

Medhi pointed out that despite three Rajya Sabha seats from the state recently falling vacant, opposition parties did not even come forward to contest the election, exposing what he described as their lack of unity and political will. Taking a direct swipe at the Indian National Congress, he said the party’s repeated slogan of “There will be a fight” has now proven hollow.

“The Congress, which tirelessly raises the slogan ‘There will be a fight’, not only refrained from contesting the Rajya Sabha election but remained stationed hundreds of miles away from the battlefield,” Medhi said, adding that the party along with other opposition forces had effectively chosen “retreat and political escape.”

According to the BJP leader, while it was numerically evident that the ruling alliance would secure the first two Rajya Sabha seats, the third seat still offered a potential opportunity for opposition parties to come together and mount a symbolic challenge. Even if victory was unlikely, contesting the seat could have demonstrated the strength and seriousness of the opposition alliance before the people, he said.

“Winning or losing is a part of politics. But by not even attempting to contest the third seat, the opposition has shown that its claims of unity are merely rhetorical,” Medhi remarked.

He further said the failure of opposition parties to even file nomination papers in the Rajya Sabha polls has laid bare the current state of opposition politics in Assam. The development, he added, indicates that the opposition may struggle to forge a practical alliance in the run-up to the state’s upcoming Assembly elections.

“The events surrounding the Rajya Sabha election have exposed the stark reality that opposition parties in Assam lack the ability to unite in practice,” Medhi said, asserting that the episode reflects the growing political dominance of the BJP in the state.