Ten legislators, including nine from the Congress and one Independent candidate of Assam, met BJP national president Amit Shah in New Delhi on Saturday and expressed their willingness to join the BJP. They even said that ten more party legislators are likely to join the saffron party, threatening the majority of the Congress in the 126-member House in Assam.
last month, former Assam Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had joined the BJP and said that he would present the saffron party with at least 52 Congress legislators in Assam. Sarma on Saturday led the nine Congress legislators and one Independent to Shah and claimed that he had submitted another list of ten Congress legislators, including a Minister to the BJP’s Assam unit president, which is BJP top leadership’s green signal to join BJP.
The nine Congress legislators who met Shah on Saturday included Jayanta Malla Baruah, Piyush Hazarika, Rajen Borthakur, Pallab lochan Das, Abu Taher Bepari, Binanda Saikia, Bolin Chetia, Pradan Baruah and Kripa Nath Malla. Trinamool Congress, legislator Dwipen Pathak also decided to join BJP and met Shah.
If the claim of these legislators is to be believed the ruling Congress will fall short of majority in the House, which used to enjoy the support of 78 MlAs on its own till last month, when Sarma quit and joined BJP.
“We have met Amit Shah today and expressed our willingness to join the BJP and work under strong leadership of Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Jayanta Malla Baruah after meeting with Shah. Baruah said that they would formally join the saffron party at a date fixed by president of the Assam unit of the BJP, Siddhartha Bhattacharyya.
“The BJP central leadership has approved joining of these ten legislators and so I have led them here. A list of another ten Assam Congress legislators including a minister is with the president of BJP’s Assam unit and waiting for approval by the Central leadership. If they approve the list, I shall be happy to bring them,” said Himanta Biswa Sarma after emerging out of the meeting with Shah.
Sarma, further said that he would resign from the Assam legislative Assembly after returning to Guwahati in a day or two. “We are not going to move no confidence motion against the Chief Minister. We may consider resigning which would force the Chief Minister to go the people and seek their mandate again,” Sarma said while adding that the strategy would, however, be fixed by the BJP leadership only.
It may be mentioned here that the Congress, which has been in power in Assam since 2001, had the support of 78 legislators in the 126 member House till Sarma joined BJP last month. The All India United Democratic front (AIUDF) has the support of 18 legislators, followed by Bodoland Peoples’ Front (12), Asom Gana Parishad (9), BJP (6) and two Independents.