Allegations that “traitors” are sabotaging the prospects of some of its candidates have rattled the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the May 4 assembly election vote counting, prompting the state party chief Dilip Saikia to urge his colleagues to refrain from commenting on likely saboteurs.
On April 25, former BJP state chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass, a minister in the outgoing Cabinet, posted on Facebook that he did not fight the communists alone but battled some “camouflaged traitors” acting as their own. A day later, Dass referred to the 19th-century defeat of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and posted, “I am not Napoleon from [the] Battle of Waterloo, I am Ranjeet from the Waterloo of the Bhawanipur-Sorbhog constituency.”
On April 27, Dass, who contested the election against Communist Party of India (Marxist) lawmaker Manoranjan Talukdar, stressed he would win the election comfortably. He added the names of traitors, “who laid a labyrinth of traps” to ensure his loss, would be disclosed at an appropriate forum ahead of the vote count.
On April 26, BJP lawmaker (Kamalpur) Diganta Kalita said that he would disclose details of all traitors in the BJP on May 1. Within hours of his post, a recording of his telephone call purportedly with a BJP leader threatening to sabotage Kalita’s prospects surfaced.
{{/usCountry}}On April 26, BJP lawmaker (Kamalpur) Diganta Kalita said that he would disclose details of all traitors in the BJP on May 1. Within hours of his post, a recording of his telephone call purportedly with a BJP leader threatening to sabotage Kalita’s prospects surfaced.
{{/usCountry}}Kalita is an acolyte of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. He defected from Congress to the BJP in 2015, like Sarma.
Saikia appealed to BJP workers against making such statements or posts on social media. “Some hopefuls did not get tickets and were dissatisfied, but once the election process began, 99.9% of them supported the party’s candidates. Words like traitors do not exist in the BJP dictionary,” Saikia said.
Congress leader Debabrata Saikia said they have maintained all along that all is not well within the BJP. “Allegations of sabotage by candidates, who are ministers or sitting lawmakers, do not bode well for the ruling party. We are confident of forming the government.”
The BJP first came to power in Assam in 2016. It is hoping for a third consecutive term in alliance with Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland Peoples’ Front. The alliance set a target of securing around 90-100 of the total 126 seats. Almost all exit polls have indicated its return to power.