BJP removed Himanta Biswa Sarma’s candidature at Amit Shah’s instruction, confirms Ranjeet Dass

Guwahati, March 18, 2019:

All is not well within the ranks of the BJP party as according to reports, Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is generally considered one of the top contenders in the party, is being denied a ticket to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha elections by the party.

Ever since rumors started circulating that current Jalukbari MLA and Assam’s Finance Minister Himanta would be handed the ticket from either the Mangaldoi or Tezpur Constituencies, it was considered that the Minister would make his debut in the General Elections. Things took a turn for the worse in the BJP camp when Tezpur’s sitting MP, the senior BJP leader and Gorkha representative Ram Prasad Sarmah, decided that he would quit the party in rebellion over the Himanta issue.

Meanwhile, insider reports point out that Biswa Sarma has been vetoed by BJP President Amit Shah in the lead up to the elections which comes as a shocker as Assam BJP Ranjeet Kumar Dass has been quoted as saying: “When our national leadership conveyed to me the party wants Himanta to fight the Lok Sabha election and can choose any constituency, I immediately replied it was a great decision but requested Assam be given priority over other states before finalizing the constituency for him.”

But now, Himanta’s prospects in the ensuing elections seem dim as the party heads have chosen not to field Himanta and even Ranjeet Dass has changed his tone. Speaking to the press on Monday, Dass said: “BJP President Amit Shah requested Himanta Biswa Sarma that instead of focusing on a single seat, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma should focus on the elections in all the states of the Northeast and focus on all seats in the region. Since he is the convener of the NEDA, that is justifiable and taking these things into consideration, we removed his name from the list of candidates.”

Thus, the party has done a complete flip-flop on the issue of nominating Biswa Sarma to contest the election on behalf of the party and since the BJP party cannot keep its words to a senior Minister of the party itself, how can one expect the party to keep its words to the people? The BJP party is already suffering severe setbacks in the Northeast as Arunachal Pradesh General Secretary Jarpum Gamlin resigned following denial of ticket to contest the Assembly Elections. The resignation of R P Sarmah will also have a negative impact on the party as he has stated in clear terms that he will not mobilize the Gorkhas to vote for the BJP en masse.