Eyeing wins in four-five key 'non-BJP' seats in Upper Assam: Himanta
GUWAHATI:
BJP’s key poll strategist in Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, said the party was specifically eyeing wins in four to five seats out of eight constituencies in the first phase of Assam Assembly elections.
These seats were won by candidates from other parties five years back.
“We are trying to enhance (BJP presence) in four to five seats among constituencies such as Jonai, Nazira, Doom Dooma, Sibsagar, Golaghat, Sarupathar, Mariani and Titabor which were not with BJP last time,” Sarma said.
“If we can win four to five seats (out of the eight) in the first phase polls, then we (BJP) can get close to winning 100 seats. Regarding such a possibility, we can only tell you by March 25,” he added.
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Former Congress leader, and sitting MLA, Ajanta Neog, who joined BJP in December last year, will look to retain Golaghat, but from the saffron party’s camp.
Sarma said the BJP prospects in Titabor, (a constituency won by veteran Congressman and three-time chief minister, late Tarun Gogoi) this time, appeared bright.
“From the feedback that I have got from Titabor, our candidate Hemanta Kalita’s prospects to win the seat looks almost certain,” he said.
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On Sibsagar, where Raijor Dal president and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) activist Akhil Gogoi would contest as an Independent, Sarma said that the saffron party could cash in on Congress being divided into two camps there.
“One camp is rooting for Akhil and the other for the party candidate...So if we can cash in on 1500 votes which the BJP can get out of this division in Congress, we should win in Sibsagar,” the senior BJP leader said.
As it is, the BJP-led alliance, also comprising Asom Gana Parishad (AGP)and the Pramod Boro-led United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), is targetting “100 plus seats” in the three-phase Assam Assembly polls.
(Edited by Ladiangti Rani)
