Just five years back Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made its debut in Northeast by winning one of the northeastern states – Assam.
Probably BJP too could not realize that its position in Assam will start crumbling in just five years. BJP seemed to be a party in a hurry.
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It didn’t have a face in Assam. The saffron brigade chose to make an entry in this unconquered territory by hiring leaders from other parties—Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Congress.
In a way it will certainly not be an exaggeration to say that the present Assam chapter of BJP is a ‘new version of AGP’ because the ‘face’ of BJP himself was with both AGP and All Assam Students Union (AASU).
The core ideology of BJP has always been associated with three Hs—Hindu, Hindi and Hindustan. With the passage of time it has changed sensing political compulsions and is trying to stretch its footprints across India.
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In 2016, BJP nominated Aminul Haq Laskar from the Muslim majority Sonai Assembly constituency under Cachar district. Aminul surprised all political pundits and managed to win the seat.
Sonai has about 1.98 lakh voters—1.9 lakh voters are Muslims and 89 thousand voters are Hindus. So, it’s quite understandable that the Muslims play a deciding role at Sonai.
Last time a sizeable number of Muslim voters voted for Aminul Haq Lashkar because the then Congress MLA Enamul Haque was facing severe charges of corruption and people were looking for a fresh guard.
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But in 2021, the game has changed completely—the unprecedented alliance between Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has taken the ruling BJP regime by storm.
Ground zero reports indicate that the Muslims have voted en masse for the grand alliance candidate Karim Uddin alias Saaju. Though Aminul is sounding optimistic, at the back of his mind he too knows this time it will be difficult for him to crack this exam.
Many factors went against Aminul this time. He always tried to win the hearts of Muslims because by joining BJP he became ‘unholy’ in the eyes of his own community.
It’s also being alleged that Aminul took the Hindus for a ride. Probably he realized that the Hindus are the trusted vote bank of BJP.
Rebel leader of BJP Ashish Haldar changed the arithmetic altogether. He lobbied for himself this time. Unfortunately he failed and in a fit of rage Ashish decided to contest as an independent candidate. His lone aim is to rock BJP’s boat at Sonai.
The Hindu votes got divided at Sonai and the Muslims got their face in Saaju. The game is over for BJP, sources told. The decisions to do away with triple talaq and closure of all madrassas didn’t go down well with the Muslims. Aminul’s eerie silence over these issues also irked them.
Apart from this the fear of National Register of Citizens (NRC) is also hovering over the sky of Assam. BJP being a right wing Hindutva party has never been a blue eyed boy in the eyes of minorities—all these factors played a crucial role at Sonai.
Cutting the long story short, chances are bleak for the outgoing deputy speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly. Elections in India are now being fought on religious lines and it will be wrong to pin the blame either on Narendra Modi or on BJP in particular.
Congress used its secularism trump card so much that it antagonised the majority community and they tilted towards BJP.
India is a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic. The onus on preserving this rich tradition of our country lies on the shoulders of each and every political party. Sadly, the lust for power has put all ethics and principles on back burner.
May God bless India!