Assam CM woos voters in Western Assam

Stating that opposition was spreading fear among Muslims, Mr Sarma said that they spread lies previously that mosques would be shut down and religious practices like Namaz and Ramzan would be banned under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

Contrary to his rhetoric in past, Mr Sarma highlighted that the Modi administration has now completed a decade in power without any such prohibitions and noted a cessation of communal clashes during this period.

It is significant that Mr Sarma on Thursday travelled to Dhubri Lok sabha seat to campaign for the ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate, just a month after he declared that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not want to win the Dhubri seat and that he would never go there to seek votes.

Mr Sarma described the Congress era as one marked by violence and disruption, characterised by "Guns, Bullets, Bomb Blasts, picketing, and Assam Bandhs." He asserted that his government has eradicated these societal ills.

Mr Sarma who addressed three public meetings at Gauripur, Bilasipara and Golakganj in Western Assam,said, “I see a wave of enthusiasm among people in favour of AGP and BJP in parts of Dhubri where we didn’t have any presence earlier. People have realised that Mr Ajmal’s (sitting MP Badruddin Ajmal) time in Dhubri is over, and they don’t need Rakibul (Congress candidate Rakibul Hussain).”

The Dhubri Lok Sabha seat has been an AIUDF bastion since the 2009 general elections when Ajmal was first elected as an MP. He has been re-elected from the seat three times since.

Sarma had last year claimed that the BJP does not want votes from ‘Miyas’ for the next 10 years till the community discards practices like child marriages, sends girls to schools and stays away from fundamentalism.

In a direct attack on his political rivals, Mr Sarma claimed that Congress candidate Rakibul Hussain and AIUDF candidate Badruddin Ajmal were merely putting on a show for the people of Dhubri. He urged the residents not to lag behind in the nation's progress and to actively participate in the development narrative being written by the NDA, which he confidently stated would form the next central government.

AGP, a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in Assam, is contesting from Dhubri, one of Assam’s three Muslim-majority Lok Sabha seats, and Barpeta as part of the alliance.

The BJP is contesting in 11 out of 14 seats in Assam, while its ally AGP is contesting in two seats – Barpeta and Dhubri. One seat has gone to United People’s Party Liberal. Dhubri is scheduled to vote in the third phase of the ongoing general elections on May 7.