Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, one of the most prominent faces of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), filed his nomination from the Jalukbari Assembly constituency on Friday as he seeks a second term in office. The nomination was submitted at the District Commissioner’s office of Kamrup (Metro) district in Guwahati ahead of the state assembly polls.
Before filing his nomination, Himanta led a huge rally from Veterinary College Field, Khanapara, to the District Commissioner’s office, drawing large crowds of BJP supporters along the route.
A five-time MLA from Jalukbari, Himanta was first elected in 2001 and served three terms with the Indian National Congress (INC) before joining the BJP to contest the 2016 elections.
The upcoming Assam assembly elections will see a direct contest between the incumbent BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and the Congress party across 126 assembly seats. Voting is scheduled for April 9, with vote counting set for May 4.
Mission to bring every Hindu into BJP fold
The Assam CM today claimed that more Congress leaders are likely to join his party ahead of the elections, stating that it is his mission to bring every Hindu in “fold of the BJP”.
“I think more people will join. I am going to have every Hindu person in the fold of the BJP. That is my mission because Hindus should be united,” he said, highlighting the party’s strategy to expand its base in Assam.
Speaking about his agenda, he says, “I am going to bring each and every Hindu person into the fold of the BJP. That is my mission. Hindus should be united. One of my missions in life is to unite Hindu society. Why should people remain in the Congress party and do anti-Hindu activities? They should come, they should come to their natural home… We want to secure the identity of Assam. We want to have faster development for Assam…”
‘Protect Assam’s identity’: Himanta
Addressing the media, Himanta outlined his primary objectives for Assam: safeguarding the state’s identity and promoting faster development.
“This will be my seventh election. I’ll get full support from the people of Assam. We want to secure the identity of Assam. We want to have faster development. These two are our objectives,” he said.
Himanta also thanked Assam Congress President Gaurav Gogoi for seeing him as the only opponent in the upcoming elections. “I offer my deep thanks to him that, instead of fighting with a party, he said he is fighting with an individual. That means today I have become an institution even though I’m not, but if you get a compliment, then you should thank,” he remarked.