Assam Congress chief challenges CM Himanta: Will you resign if Gaurav Gogoi wins?

Throwing a gauntlet at Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah on Sunday (April 21) asked the chief minister to resign if Gaurav Gogoi wins from Jorhat constituency. CM Sarma has been claiming that BJP will win all five seats of first phase polling,

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Borah also criticised Sarma over his dance moves in campaign meetings and said he should join films if he wants to entertain people.

In almost all his campaign meetings, Sarma ends his speeches by dancing to BJP's theme song, being used since the last Parliamentary election – 'Akou ebar Modi sarkar' (Modi's government, once more).

"The CM is saying that BJP will win all the five seats of Upper Assam. I am directly challenging him: will he resign if Gaurav Gogoi wins from Jorhat?" asked the Congress leader.

Congress’s Gogoi vs BJP’s Gogoi

During the first phase on April 19, voting took place in Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Kaziranga, Sonitpur and Jorhat, from where Gogoi contested against sitting BJP MP Topon Kumar Gogoi.

No BJP national figure came to campaign in Jorhat, and the entire campaign was led by the chief minister, who addressed multiple meetings and held several roadshows covering all the 10 assembly segments in the constituency.

Several BJP state ministers like Pijush Hazarika and Jayanta Malla Baruah camped in Jorhat. Many MLAs also stayed there for a long period.

‘Sarma telling a lie’

"Sarma is telling a lie to the people of Assam. Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal will lose badly from Dibrugarh only because of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. People have voted against him for his silent support of the CAA," Borah claimed.

Sonowal is pitted against Assam Jatiya Parishad's Lurinjyoti Gogoi, who is a candidate of the United Opposition Forum Assam (UOFA), formed in the state with 16 parties in line with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

Aam Aadmi Party's Manoj Dhanowar, who could make inroads in the tea garden areas, may play a spoilsport in Dibrugarh.

'Congress to lead in polls'

Borah claimed that the Congress will lead in 40 out of 48 assembly seats belonging to five Lok Sabha constituencies where voting took place in the first phase.

On Sarma's election campaign, the Congress leader said: "Why does the CM dance in every meeting? He throws the mic and only dances. He does not speak about issues like price rise, unemployment, CAA, Assam Accord and labour wages." Borah claimed Sarma dances only to deviate people from real issues.

'Sarma should join films'

He said, "Those dance moves are also not anything related to the dances of Assam. If he really wants to entertain, he should join films. Why is he in politics?" Borah wondered if any other BJP CM anywhere in the country dances during the election campaign instead of talking about issues affecting the public.

"He (Sarma) has lost his mental balance," he claimed.

Asked about his dance moves, videos of which have gone viral, the chief minister in an interview had explained that Assam is culturally very rich and music has an important role in everyone's life.

"One of the communications with the people in Assam is music. People feel that whenever there is a song, there is some festivity. We want to convert the election into a festival.

"If you see my election speech, I don't talk about Rahul Gandhi, I don't talk about Congress. I talk only about Modi and development of Assam. Add a little bit of festivity, a little bit of music there – it becomes lively. So, it is a mode of communication," he had added.

(With agency inputs)