Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Congress could go to any length to win elections, including aligning with minority-based parties in Assam, Kerala and West Bengal.
Campaigning in Assam on Sunday for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates in Margherita and Nazira Assembly constituencies, Mr. Shah slammed the Congress for “cosying up” to the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), headed by perfume baron and Lok Sabha member Maulana Badruddin Ajmal. The BJP and its regional allies regard the AIUDF as the “protector” of illegal immigrants.
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The Congress and the AIUDF are the main constituents of the 10-party Mahajot (grand alliance) that wants to “save Assam” by uprooting the BJP.
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“In Kerala, the Congress has aligned with the (Indian Union) Muslim League that worked to divide the country. In Assam, it has aligned with the AIUDF. And in West Bengal, it has forged an alliance with a new party by a cleric of Furfura Sharif Dargah. The Congress can go to any length to win elections,” Mr. Shah said at a rally in Margherita.
“The elections are just days away and there are two options before you. One is the Modi and Sonowal-led combine of BJP-AGP (Asom Gana Parishad). The other is the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress-Ajmal combine. Tell me who can do well for Assam. This election will determine Assam’s future,” he said.
“If you vote for Congress, it will go to Ajmal,” said the Home Minister, promising to make “infiltration” a thing of the past if the BJP is given five more years in Assam. He also reminded the people of satra (Vaishnav monasteries) lands having been cleared of “infiltrators” during the BJP’s rule.
Mr. Shah advised tea workers not to be fooled by the Congress’s promise of raising their daily wage to ₹365 if voted to power.
Sealing border
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed three BJP rallies, including at Gohpur, where State Congress president Ripun Bora is contesting. The three venues are in eastern Assam’s tea belt.
Reminding the people of the massacre of Adivasis in 2014 at Biswanath — one of the venues — Mr. Singh said the condition in Assam has improved a lot since the BJP’s rule.
Mr. Shah also said the commitment to India’s security made the BJP-led government seal a major portion of the India-Bangladesh border. “Whatever little stretch is left unfenced will be completely sealed after the BJP returns to power in Assam,” he said, adding that the BJP government in Tripura was taking steps to stop illegal immigration.
At Guwahati, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the “confusion” within the Congress over its alliance has increased because the people of Assam have made up their minds to vote for the BJP.
“This realisation has made so many opposition parties come together to fight the BJP. The inner contradictions and confusion in the Congress are apparent,” he said.
Polling will be held in 47 seats in Assam on March 27 in the first phase, and 39 and 40 constituencies will go to polls on April 1 and April 6 respectively.