BJP finally a force to reckon with in Assam

GUWAHATI, March 5: With the results of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam arriving, the figures have shown that the BJP, which was considered i...

GUWAHATI, March 5: With the results of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam arriving, the figures have shown that the BJP, which was considered insignificant for long, has finally arrived.

The party’s nominees have come second in eight constituencies, and third in three others. The BJP had contested in 13 constituencies in Assam. The most significant performance has been in Silchar, where former MP Kabindra Purakayastha has beaten Santosh Mohan Deb, a Congress stalwart. “Everybody called us insignificant, but we proved it wrong. Now we aim to capture power in the State Assembly, elections for which do not seem to be very far,” said Narayan Borkotoki, BJP state president.

In Guwahati, once held by AGP stalwart and former Union Minister Dinesh Goswami, the BJP’s Colonel Manoranjan Goswami came second, when he was defeated by Bhubaneswar Kalita of the Congress by a margin of 1.28 lakh votes. Col Goswami, is the younger brother of Dinesh Goswami. The AGP’s sitting MP Prabin Sharma finished third.

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The BJPimproved its position in Assam Lok Sabha seats from 15.96 per cent in 1996 to around 26 per cent this time, with candidates in some constituencies polling almost 45 per cent of valid votes.

Although the election department in Assam is yet to come out with official statistics about poll results, unofficial calculations have made it clear that BJP has improved its support base in Assam.

In Nagaon, BJP polled 38 per cent votes against 44.10 per cent by Congress and 17.72 by the AGP. In Guwahati, BJP polled 27.78 per cent and Congress 50.41 per cent. The AGP nominee drew only 21.83 per cent votes here.

Yogi Adityanath, Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, police lathicharge, police lathicharge students, Indian express news, current affairs

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