BJP not ready for council polls!

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, July 10: The Deori, Tiwa and the Thengal Kachari workers and leaders of the State BJP have a sore point - the party has no preparations at all for the Deori Autonomous Council (DAC), Tiwa Autonomous Council (TAC) and Thengal Kachari Autonomous Council (TKAC) elections slated to be held before the 2016 Assembly elections in the State. The elections of the three councils are likely to be held in October this year.

The BJP workers and leaders belonging to the three tribal communities of Assam feel that if the party can form the three autonomous councils by toppling the Congress, it will be easier for it to make it to Dispur in 2016. "However, for reasons best known to them the party leaders in the State haven't taken the issue of autonomous council polls into their account. They have their eyes set only on the 2016 Assembly elections," a section of aggrieved BJP leaders from these three tribal communities said.

"Union Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs (independent charge) Sarbanda Sonowal has already had two rounds of talks with various tribal and ethnic groups of the State. Holding meetings with the students' body of a community doesn't mean taking the entire community into consideration. One has to see what grip the students' body has over the community it represents. Despite holding two rounds of talks with the students' bodies of various tribal groups, the Union minister is yet to draw any strategy to fight the DAC, TAC and the TKAC elections. Doesn't the party want to form these three autonomous councils?" They questioned.

The aggrieved leaders further said: "State BJP president Siddhartha Bhattcharyya is no sacred cow either. The blame for the lack of preparations for the three autonomous council polls in the party mostly goes to him since he is the president. What made him refrain from preparing for the elections in the three autonomous councils?"