BJP has eyes set on 11 of 14 LS seats; to go solo?

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 1: After getting a strong foothold in the State in the last Assembly elections, the BJP Assam Pradesh is weighing all options available before it for the forthcoming elections, including the Lok Sabha election slated for 2019. Enough indications are being emated from the party that it might even go solo in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, let alone the panchayat poll slated for 2018. Maybe, taking that in mind, the party has made 50 party ministers and MLAs in-charges of LACs in the State that are held by other parties.   

‘Leave well alone with the coalition partners’ is not the pulse in the party that instead wants to ‘go it alone’, be it in the panchayat poll in 2018 or the Lok Sabha poll in 2019. The Saffron party represents seven of the 14 Lok Sabha seats of the State. Lagging far behind are the Congress and the AIUDF with three seats each. One seat is held by an Independent candidate.

Talking to newsmen at BJPLP hall at the Assam Assembly today, State BJP president Ranjit Dass said: “We’ve our eyes set on 11 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam. Going solo in the forthcoming panchayat poll is a foregone conclusion.”

This essentially means that the party has to wrest four other seats, besides retaining all the seven seats it has with it, or otherwise in the Lok Sabha polls. The ambition of winning 11 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats seems impractical in a coalition with other party or parties. The AGP, the BPF, Ga Shakti and two other ethnic parties are coalition partners of the BJP in the State.

Dass said: “The district-level leaders and cadres want the party to fight the panchayat poll alone. That, according to them, will help strengthen the foundation of our party, as well as that of our coalition partners. In the event of any alliance in any other polls other than the panchayat poll, only a party with strong foundation can help its partners. We’re going to form a committee for the panchayat poll in the State. It’s the committee that’ll have the fil say on anything related to the panchayat poll.”      

Dass continued: “In order to strengthen the party base and to help implement the schemes of the Centre and the State smoothly we’ve appointed bistaraks in all the 126 LACs in the State. Apart from them, we’ve given additiol charge to party ministers and MLAs to look after the Assembly constituencies that are held by other parties. The ministers and MLAs given additiol charge will have to visit their additiol LACs twice a month and submit reports.”

The ministers/MLAs given additiol charge are Parimal Shuklabaidhya for Kamrup North and Kamrup South (he has to look after Hailakandi as well where Krishnendu Paul has been given additiol charge); Mihir Kanti Shome for Badarpur; Dilip Kumar Paul for Katlicherra; Kishore th for Algapur; Bir Bhadra Hagjer for Lakhipur; Ashwini Rai Sarkar for Gauripur and Bongaigaon; Ashok Kumar Singhi for Bilasipara West; Dipak Kumar Rabha for Goalpara East; Joyram Engleng for Jamumukh; Dr. Numal Momin for Sorupathar; Chandra Mohan Patowary for Tezpur/Bongaigaon; Pallab Lochan Das for Abhoyapuri South and North; Ranjit Dutta for Barpeta; Atul Bora for Bhabanipur; Ashok Sarma for Patacharkuchi; Bhabesh Kalita for Kamalpur and Tamulpur; rayan Deka for Chenga; Binda Kumar Saikia for Kalaigaon; Guru Jyoti Das for Dalgaon; Ganesh Kumar Limbo for Majbat; Promod Borthakur for oboicha; Padma Hazarika for North Lakhimpur/Barhampur; Piyush Hazarika for Boko, Devanda Hazarika for Lahorighat; Durgeswar Das for Rupahihat; Angoorlata Deka for Dhing; Sibu Mishra for Goalpara West; Mril Saikia for Dergaon; Jogen Mohan for Bokakhat; Tapan Gogoi for Titabor; Kushal Deori for zira; Prasanta Phukan for Joi; Chakra Gogoi for Sivasagar; Ripupar Baruah for Kaliabor; Bimal Bora for Golaghat; Rupak Sarma for Samoguri; Sanjay Kishan for Mariani; Suren Phukan for harkatia; Bolin Chetia for Amguri; Bhaskar Sarma for Teok; Himanta Biswa Sarma for Barama and Gossaigaon; Rama Kanta Deori for Bijni, Sum Tonghang for Kokrajhar East; Ranjit Kumar Dass for Dhemaji; Ashok Singhal for Udalguri; ba Kumar Doley for Paneri and Chirang; Dr. Monsing Rongpi for Kokrajhar West and Siddhartha Bhattacharya for Guwahati West.