Cong gets minority votes due to their fear about BJP Himanta

    Guwahati, May 13 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday claimed that the Congress has been getting votes from the minority community, especially the Muslims, as these electors have a fear psychosis that the BJP will attack them and destroy their religious places, if the saffron party wins elections.
    Addressing a press conference here, Sarma alleged that Assam's Congress MPs Gaurav Gogoi, Pradyut Bordoloi and Rakibul Hussain have got minority votes only due to the fear among these people about the BJP.
    "They (Congress MPs) did not get votes for their popularity, but due to fear (among the minority community). An artificial fear is instilled in their mind that they will be attacked and their mosques and madrassas will be burnt if the BJP wins. So, they vote for the Congress," the CM claimed.
    Gogoi, Bordoloi and Hussain - all three Lok Sabha MPs from the state - have won due to "this fear factor among the minorities", he said.
    "The Congress MPs win from minority areas and think that they are popular. They win, not because of popularity votes, but for 'fear votes'. If our MP goes to the same area, the popularity of our MP increases. But the people are scared," Sarma claimed.
    Talking about Gogoi's erstwhile constituency Kaziranga, a part of which was in Nagaon district, the CM asserted that the Congress MP had the "traditional votes" there.
    "Constituency people seek love from their MP. People used to vote, out of compulsion, as they thought the BJP would burn the mosques and madrassas," he claimed.
    Sarma pointed out that in Jorhat, Gogoi's present constituency, the BJP has won all the Zilla Parishad and the majority of Anchalik Panchayat seats during the rural elections, results of which were declared on Tuesday.
    "In Jorhat, there is no reason for fear. So, people voted freely. In Parliament, he (Gogoi) speaks for Manipur, but not about Jorhat," he said.
    The BJP leader also said, "When someone becomes a politician under the direct influence of the father, then an accident is bound to happen. If a worker becomes a politician, then there will not be any accident."
    His allusion was to Gogoi and his father late Tarun Gogoi, the former chief minister of Assam.
    Referring to the allegation of Gaurav Gogoi's son being a foreign citizen, Sarma opined that former CM Tarun Gogoi would not have made his son a foreign citizen.
    "Everyone cannot become Tarun Gogoi or Prafulla Mahanta or Sarat Singha (all three are former CM of Assam). The main disciple of a father may not be his son, but a worker can become the greatest disciple.
    "Politics is not decided by blood relation, but by hard work only. Nobody should do politics in the name of his or her father," Sarma asserted.
    He, however, said that minority voters, especially women, are now gradually voting for the BJP.
    "Women belonging to the minority community know that the BJP abolished triple talaq, and such provision will return as soon as the BJP is out of power. Uniform Civil Code and our drive against child marriage have influenced the Muslim women to support us," he added.
    Talking about the panchayat elections, where the BJP registered a landslide victory, Sarma said the ruling front secured a historic win, while the Congress seats almost halved in Zilla Parishad (ZP) and Anchalik Panchayat (AP).
    "Except for the minority areas, we won 100 per cent seats. The Congress and the AIUDF won only in the minority areas. Pleasantly, we also won a few seats in areas where 80-90 per cent people are from the minority community," he added.
    Sarma also said that the BJP has improved its performance in its strongholds, while the Congress did not perform well in the Hindu-majority localities.
    "Our vote share in minority areas has increased from the Lok Sabha elections. If we can replicate the same performance in next year's assembly polls, we can have a clear lead in 103 seats, out of 126, and it can even go up to 105," he added.
    The BJP-led NDA will try to deliver a similar performance in Assembly elections, due in 2026, the CM asserted.
    He also said that all the newly announced schemes will be rolled out from next month, and these will have a positive impact in favour of the ruling front in the 2026 assembly polls.
    "In panchayat polls, all communities voted for the BJP and its ally AGP. Prior to the assembly elections, this is a booster, a sanjivani for the BJP. On the other hand, the Congress is indulging in very immature politics," Sarma asserted.
    The BJP on Tuesday registered a landslide victory in Assam rural polls, winning 219 of 397 Zilla Parishad seats and 901 of 2,192 Anchalik Panchayat constituencies so far.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)