Lok Sabha elections 2019: Citizenship bill, NRC may cast a shadow on BJP’s prospects

However, most migrants in the Barak Valley are Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. According to locals, they form the majority of the over 200,000 names excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Cachar district—a move that has angered many, say local leaders.

In Silchar, as in the rest of the state, the flashpoint is the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), a poll promise of the BJP, which has found support among the Bengali-speaking Hindus here. However, most migrants in the Barak Valley are Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. According to locals, they form the majority of the over 200,000 names excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Cachar district—a move that has angered many, say local leaders.

The constituency has more than 35% Muslim voters, while the rest comprise of Bengali speaking Hindus, Tea Tribes and other tribal groups among others. (AFP)

Congress candidate Sushmita Dev cannot openly support the bill, which offers citizenship only to Hindus, Sikh and Buddhist immigrants, and excludes Muslim immigrants. Dev is also a stringent critic of the NRC. The seat is traditionally a Congress stronghold—Dev’s father Santosh Mohan Dev, won it five times — but the BJP has won it thrice, too. Despite the Modi wave in 2014, Dev won riding on sympathy after her father, a veteran Congress leader, died a few months before polls.

Earlier, the BJP’s dogged determination to push the CAB through without discussion had lost it a vital ally, the Asom Gana Parishad.  

The alliance was stitched back last month, and Roy, a doctor, was fielded. “The voters seem to have been polarised with the majority community mostly backing the BJP because it is pushing the CAB,” said Dharmananda Dev, a local lawyer adding this may help the Congress.

The constituency has more than 35% Muslim voters, while the rest comprise of Bengali speaking Hindus, Tea Tribes and other tribal groups among others.

Nearly 73.89% votes were polled in this constituency in Bengali-speaking Barak Valley in Southern Assam. In 2014, polling percentage stood at 75.4%. Laya Madduri, Deputy Commissioner Silchar said polling has been peaceful barring some incidents of EVM malfunction. “The machines were readily replaced.”