Alliance with other parties in Assam to continue: Shah

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 25: With his eyes set on 21of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the Northeast in 2019 general election, BJP’s tiol president Amit Shah has dropped a broad hint for the party in the State to mean business that the alliance with other parties in Assam is beyond the last Assembly polls.

At the booth presidents’ conference in Guwahati on Saturday Shah spelt it out in no uncertain terms that the party’s coalition with other parties in Assam would be maintained in the State till the 2019 Lok Sabha poll and beyond. Later in the day at various meetings with party leaders of the State he dropped a broad hint that the friendship with other parties would have to be kept up at all cost in the State. He, however, let the State unit of the party to decide if it has to go it alone or in electoral understanding with the coalition partners in the State during the forthcoming panchayat poll or not.

Apart from the booth presidents’ meeting, Shah attended meetings with party MLAs and MPs, the party’s extended office-bearers’ meeting and the core-committee meeting late at night on Saturday. “We’re in alliance, and will continue to be. All should be aware of the alliance, and should obey what makes friendship thrive,” Shah told his party leaders in Assam.

According to top sources in the party here, the series of meetings with Shah have made it clear that the party will have to fight the panchayat poll on its own. However, the party will continue to maintain its relations with the alliance partners in the State, sources said.

“Shah has asked the party to strengthen its organization before the Lok Sabha poll up to the mandal and booth levels. He has also asked the party leaders here to enroll 20 per cent members in the party at booth level from backward classes like SC, ST, OBC and others. He has asked every core committee members of the State to take the responsibility of three party districts in the State for the Lok Sabha election. He has also asked the State unit of the party to take 60 active leaders to take the responsibility of five mandals by each of them. He has also asked the state unit to revive the mandal pravas programme till the Lok Sabha poll, besides completing the process of appointing page in-charges within three months,” the source said.

The party president also made it a point that the party had to work overtime to make people of the State up to mandal and booth levels know the very essence of the projects and programmes taken up by the Prime Minister.  

Shah, accompanied by Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal and State party president Ranjit Kumar Dass, visited the Kamakhya Temple before leaving for New Delhi on Sunday.