Who is Srimanta Sankardev about whom Arvind Kejriwal and Abhishek Banerjee tweeted?

On the occasion of the 454th death anniversary of Assam’s socio-cultural reformer Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and General Secretary of the All India Trinamool Congress Abhishek Banerjee took to twitter to pay respect to the Vaishnavite saint.

Both the leaders posted stanzas from Assamese prayers eulogizing Srimanta Sankardev.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal paid respect to Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev.

হৰি নাম ৰসে বৈকুণ্ঠ প্ৰকাশে
প্ৰেম অমৃতৰ নদী
শ্ৰীমন্ত শংকৰে পাৰ ভাঙি দিলা
বহে ব্ৰহ্মাণ্ডক ভেদি।।

মহাপুৰুষ শ্ৰীমন্ত শংকৰদেৱৰ তিৰোভাৱ তিথিত গুৰুজনালৈ শতকোটি প্ৰণাম।

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 29, 2022

General Secretary of the All India Trinamool Congress Abhishek Banerjee too posted on his Facebook account about the Assamese saint.

This is for the first time, a non-Assam CM has posted about Sankardev on social media. Independent observers see a political design behind the two leaders suddenly writing social media posts in Assamese about the most revered socio-cultural icons in Assam. Both the parties—Kejriwal's AAP and  Banerjee’s TMC—have been eyeing to expand their bases in Assam.

Who is Srimanta Sankardev?

Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev was a scholar, playwright, social, and religious reformer. He is a colossal figure in the culture and religious history of Assam.

Sankardev was a 16th-century Assamese polymath and saint-scholar credited with uniting Assam and considered the father of Assamese culture.

He was born in 1449 at Alipukhuri near Bordowa in the Nagaon district of Assam. His father was a Shriromani (chief) of Baro-Bhuyans, the independent landlords in Assam.

Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev’s death anniversary falls in August or September in the western calendar. The day is also a regional public holiday in Assam, falling in the month of Bhadra.

The saint is widely recognized for creating new genres of music (Borgeet), theatrical performance (Anika Naat, Bhaona), dance (Sattriya), and literary language (Brajavali), and he also had a profound impact on Assamese culture, religion, and society. He left a sizable