Guwahati, Nov 14 (IANS) Continuing his jibe at Rahul Gandhi after the grand alliance’s poll debacle in the Bihar assembly elections on Friday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that the Congress leader’s “vote chori” remark fuelled a decisive mandate in favour of the BJP in the recently concluded poll.

Sarma told reporters here, “People have not taken Rahul Gandhi’s vote chori remark on a positive note; rather, this statement has compelled people to vote in huge numbers in favour of the BJP-led alliance. The Congress party was decimated in the poll results. Voters threw Congress out of Bihar, and the BJP-led alliance swept the state with a grand mandate.”

The Chief Minister argued that the NDA could sweep the poll in Bihar due to the pro-people policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Nitish Kumar.

“It was the Prime Minister’s good governance that attracted the voters to vote for the ruling alliance. I believe that, in the coming days, Assam, Bihar and other states will continue to experience all-round development and India will become a developed nation in 2047,” he added.

Mocking Rahul Gandhi after the poll debacle in Bihar, Sarma sarcastically said that the Congress leader is the biggest “star campaigner” of the BJP. Talking to reporters here, Sarma said, “I mentioned this fact repeatedly during the poll campaign in Bihar that wherever Rahul Gandhi campaigns, the BJP is set to win those seats. This is true, and if Rahul Gandhi decides to campaign in Assam, we will welcome him as he would further ensure the BJP’s win in the upcoming Assembly polls.”

The Chief Minister also took a potshot at the recent meeting of the opposition parties to make a united front to put up a strong fight against the BJP in the next election. “The meeting of the opposition parties was convened actually to discuss the marriage of an opposition leader. We should not worry about the opposition parties here and more importantly, if Akhil Gogoi is present somewhere, a disaster ought to happen,” he added.

Notably, in a resounding poll verdict that cements the National Democratic Alliance’s iron grip on Bihar, the ruling coalition stormed to a landslide, obliterating the majority mark of 122. Led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), the NDA’s tally was bolstered by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s massive win.

–IANS

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