Guwahati, May 6 (IANS) Assam Minister Pijush Hazarika on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Congress party following the party’s poor performance in the Assembly elections, and said that the public has rejected Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi’s plan of coming to power with the support of “Miyas”.

The BJP-led NDA has registered a resounding victory in the Assam Assembly elections, winning 82 out of the 126 seats in the Assembly, comfortably crossing the majority mark and paving the way for the party’s third consecutive term in power in the state. Congress lagged with 19 seats.

Speaking to IANS, Hazarika said, “They (Congress leaders) are arrogant. They do not know what is in people’s minds. They do not try to understand what people are saying. Gaurav Gogoi wanted to come to power by keeping the ‘Miyas’ ahead; hence, the people of Assam rejected this. The public has rejected Gaurav Gogoi’s plan.”

Later, addressing reporters, the Minister said that Congress has turned into a “Muslim League” in the state and had become “arrogant and disconnected” from the people of Assam, which, according to him, resulted in the party’s electoral debacle.

“Whenever a government is formed, our workers become active, but the Congress leaders became overconfident even before coming to power. They started insulting people and speaking arrogantly. Some leaders even questioned who Himanta Biswa Sarma is. The people of Assam have responded strongly to such arrogance,” Hazarika said.

Criticising Gogoi and the Congress party’s “New Greater Assam” slogan, the Minister said that it created confusion among the electorate. “They talked about building a ‘new greater Assam’. People wanted to know what that actually meant. Assam is already Assam. The public rejected this narrative and shattered the dreams of Congress,” he claimed.

Hazarika further alleged that the Congress was surviving politically only because of minority votes. Referring to constituency-level voting patterns, he claimed that even Hindu candidates of the Congress won primarily due to Muslim support.

“If you analyse the booths carefully, you will see that Congress candidates got overwhelming support from Muslim voters. Without those votes, Congress would not exist in Assam today,” he said.

“Even senior leaders have admitted this reality. Congress has now become a Muslim League in the state,” Hazarika alleged.

The BJP leader asserted that the electorate had decisively rejected what he described as the Congress party’s “divisive politics” and reaffirmed faith in the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

He further stated that the massive victory of the BJP-led NDA in the Assembly elections reflected the people’s trust in the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Speaking to reporters here, Hazarika said the BJP achieved a historic mandate under Sarma’s leadership and asserted that he would “inevitably” return as Chief Minister for a second consecutive term. “This kind of massive victory in Assam under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma is perhaps unprecedented in recent political history. The alliance secured victory in 102 seats, which is an unprecedented performance by any party in the election in Assam,” Hazarika said.

The Minister added that the people of Assam had wholeheartedly supported the BJP government and its policies, leading to the landslide electoral outcome. “Himanta Biswa Sarma will definitely become the Chief Minister for a second term. We are all waiting for the formal process to be completed,” he said, expressing gratitude to the people of the state for giving the BJP-led alliance a decisive mandate.

Meanwhile, following this commanding victory, the BJP is set to form the government in Assam for a third consecutive term, further consolidating its dominance in the northeastern state and dealing a significant blow to the Opposition. The BJP leadership is expected to soon convene a meeting of newly elected MLAs to formally elect the leader of the Legislature Party, following which the new government will be sworn in.

Party leaders and workers celebrated across the state after the declaration of results, describing the mandate as a reflection of public confidence in the BJP government’s development agenda and governance.

–IANS

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