BJP has no problem in friendly contests with allies: Assam CM

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Clarifying the seat-sharing arrangement of BJP with its allies, Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that apart from the seats in which an understanding has been reached, there will be friendly contests between the alliance partners in the other seats.

Talking to reporters here today, the Chief Minister said, "Last night we have almost finalized the seat-sharing arrangement with BPF, and an arrangement with Rabha Joutho Sangram Samiti is almost final. We'll finalize the seat-sharing arrangement with the AGP by March 10."

The CM said, "The AGP claims it has a strong base at the grassroots level in many seats, and we also feel we're strong in the same seats. Before finalizing the seat-sharing arrangement, we'll source reports at the grassroots level from these seats and carry out an analysis. We make the final decision based on the analysis. There might arise a scenario in which the AGP does not want to relinquish certain seats, and we also want to keep them. In such seats, the BJP is ready for friendly contests with the AGP. Whether it is the AGP or the BJP, our alliance must win."

The Chief Minister said that in the past five years, people have witnessed development in different sectors. "We've done a lot in the past five years, but we may not have been able to complete some development works. In the BJP's Aashirbad Yatra, which starts tomorrow, we will apologize to the people regarding the unfinished work," he said.

In the present Assam Assembly, the NDA alliance has a total of 83 MLAs- BJP 64, AGP 9, UPPL 7, and BPF 3. On the other hand, the Congress has 26 MLAs, but 5 of them have already left the party. AIUDF has 15 MLAs, CPM has one, and there is one independent MLA.

The Chief Minister claimed that out of 126 Assembly seats, the NDA is in a comfortable position with 103 seats. On the other hand, the main opposition party, the Congress, is yet to finalize its seat-sharing arrangement with other regional parties. Currently, the BJP's poll campaign is already in full swing. The opposition, however, has yet to come to clear terms on their seat-sharing, let alone start their campaign.

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