By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR/KOLKATA/GUWAHATI: Even though, BJP didn’t able to reach 100+ mark in Assam while the Saffron establishments stood far behind in West Bengal to Mamata Banerjee, but hard work of 2 Odisha based leaders read , Union PNG-Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at Nandigram , where BJP’s Suvendu Adikari forced Didi to bite the dust and BJP National VP In Charge of Assam and Delhi, Baijayant ‘Jay’Panda, who too ensured a Non-Congress Government to retain power in India’s North-East, have a left a mark in election management. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has lost to her former trusted lieutenant Suvendu Adhikari by a slim margin of 1956 votes, data on the Election Commission website said.The BJP managed to beat the incumbency factor as well as massive anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) sentiments with the ruling NDA was ahead of the Congress-led Grand Alliance with leads and wins in 73 seats in the 126-member House in Assam.
“The people of Assam have returned the BJP & NDA to govt for the enormous developmental work in the past 5 years. Led by focussed attention from PM @narendramodi Ji himself, who has been to the state & the Northeast more than any of his predecessors, & emulated by the state,”Baijayant Panda tweeted@PandaJay.“The people of Assam saw the unstinting efforts of HM @AmitShah Ji in finally resolving Bodo militancy & bringing peace & full fledged democratic participation to Bodoland. Similarly, strict border enforcement through fencing & technology saw drastic reduction in infiltration.The people of Assam have seen Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas in practice: Massively increased developmental work & various govt schemes to improve people’s lives, without discrimination against any section of society. & hugely improved law & order.Thank you, Assam,” Baijayant Panda said in a series of tweets.
Replying to BJP National General Secretray(Organisaton), BL Santosh , Jay Panda tweeted “Thank you for your encouraging words. It was outstanding teamwork, inspired by PM@narendramodi Ji, @BJP4India President @JPNaddaJi & guidance by @AmitShah Ji, yourself & others. It was my great honour to have been part of this team,”
It may be noted here that BJP National VP Jay Panda played a key role behind BJP’s Sangkalpa Patra 2021 in Assam. The BJP also successfully engineered the perception that Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands for all-inclusive development. The BJP’s theory of “65 per cent vs 35 per cent”, that is the 65 per cent of the indigenous Assamese people were under threat from 35 per cent Muslims, mostly migrant Bengali-speaking Muslims. This narrative surely impacted the voter psyche in Upper Assam, the epicentre of the anti-CAA resistance, which accounts for over 45 assembly seats.
The BJP has had the upper hand in every election in Assam since the party won big in the state in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. It won 7 and 9 (out of 14) Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2014 and 2019 elections respectively, while registering leads in 69 assembly segments in both the elections. In the 2016 assembly elections, the BJP won 60 seats, while the “rainbow alliance” it led succeeded in 86 constituencies. In the 2019 general election, the NDA led in 82 assembly segments.
