The NDA will sweep the North-eastern states and gain massively in Eastern states, said Himanta Biswa Sarma, convener of North-East Democratic Alliance and Finance Minister of Assam.
Often regarded as the architect of saffron surge in North-East, Sarma said, “I have no hesitation in saying that the NDA is all set to sweep the entire North-East. In the Eastern states such as Odisha and Bengal, the BJP will gain massively. The NDA will cross the 2014 figure this time. Now, the people of India want a decisive leadership for at least the next ten years.”
Speaking exclusively to Indus Scrolls, Sarma said the Opposition is in disarray. According to him, the BJP has emerged as the largest and strongest party in the country. “In the last 60-70 years, Congress has never been so weak. It will lose in states where it is in power like Karnataka, MP and Rajasthan. In Mizoram, the Congress will lose the coming Assembly elections. They will only be left with Punjab and Puducherry.”
BJP’s development agenda, its willingness to work with regional stakeholders and PM Modi’s charisma have helped the party win seven out of eight states in the region.”
On how the BJP expanded its base in the North-East, he said the party’s development agenda has drawn people towards it. “After the first major victory in Assam Assembly elections, there has been a political re-alignment forces in the region. Many former Congress leaders began joining BJP, and the party also began collaborating with the various regional stakeholders. Several development projects undertaken showed our commitment to development. We established road and rail connectivity. For the first time, Tripura was connected to Delhi through the Rajdhani Express. Arunachal Pradesh was connected to mainland India through the railways. So our development agenda, our willingness to work with regional stakeholders and PM Modi’s charisma have helped us win seven out of eight states in the region.”
On the contentious issue of National Register of Citizens, Sarma said, “The Assam government will finish the process of NRC by May 31. It will finalise the processes June 31. Many of the concerns are unfounded. Now, what will be the final numbers and who will be omitted— this is all under process right now. The matter will finally be cleared when the list will be published under the instruction of the Supreme Court.”
Discussion about this post