Assam minister Pijush Hazarika on Monday expressed full confidence about the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) victory in the upcoming panchayat elections. He said there is “no strong opposition” in the state and the Congress is “completely decimated”. Pijush Hazarika also said that people will vote for Narendra Modi, Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP and the party will win with an absolute majority.
“I think the BJP will win the maximum number of seats. People will vote for Narendra Modi, Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP. I am confident that we will come back with an absolute majority,” he said. Following his statement, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also spoke of winning 37 Zilla Parishad (35 BJP and 2 AGP) and 288 Anchalik Panchayat (259 BJP and 29 AGP) seats unopposed.
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Pijush Hazarika said the party has now become very weak in the state and is strong only in a few areas. “There is no strong opposition in Assam. The Congress has been destroyed, they are strong only in a few places, so I don’t think the people of Assam will vote for the Congress,” he said. He expressed his concern over the condition of the Congress and said the party is now politically marginalised in the state.
Mentioned BJP’s development work
When the minister was asked why people would vote for the BJP, he mentioned the development work the party has done in the state. “The BJP has done a lot of work in the country and the state. The roads have improved a lot, 1.5 lakh jobs have been distributed, and there can be no allegations of corruption of any kind,” Pijush Hazarika said. According to him, the BJP government has carried out significant reforms in the state, which have benefited the public and that is why people will give their support to the party.
Congress also released election manifesto
Meanwhile, Congress also released its manifesto for the upcoming panchayat elections. Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Kumar Bora and senior leader and former MP Ripun Bora released it during a program at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati. Congress has mentioned several schemes in its manifesto to solve the problems of the state.
The Assam State Election Commission said that 21,920 gram panchayat members, 2,192 gram panchayat presidents, 2,192 gram panchayat vice-presidents, 2,192 zonal panchayat members, 181 zonal panchayat presidents, 181 zonal panchayat vice-presidents and 397 district council members will be elected in the state. The panchayat elections will be held in two phases on May 2 and 7, while the counting of votes will take place on May 11. More than 1.80 crore voters, which includes 90.71 lakh male voters, 89.65 lakh female voters and 408 other voters will exercise their franchise in this election.
