After ‘Modi ka guarantee’, the electorate in poll-bound Assam has been showered with ‘Mama ka warranty’.
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Mama, meaning maternal uncle, is a moniker for Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Campaigning in western Assam’s Nalbari on April 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he came to the State with a guarantee (to fulfil the BJP’s promises) in 2024 after hope in 2014 and trust in 2019.
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On Thursday, the Chief Minister added his warranty to the Prime Minister’s guarantee for Bengali Hindus to get citizenship and scholarship for female students among other pledges made during an election rally in Udharbond under the Silchar Lok Sabha constituency.
The BJP has fielded Transport Minister Parimal Suklabaidya from the constituency, which is reserved for the Scheduled Castes. Polling in the constituency is in the second phase on April 26.
Mr. Sarma claimed Congress was in the intensive care unit and unlikely to win any election for the next 50 years. He also slammed the Trinamool Congress for a reign of terror in West Bengal and discrepancies in social welfare schemes.
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“We will create jobs for youths, provide higher education opportunities for girls, bridge the divide between the (Bengali-dominated) Barak Valley and (Assamese-dominated) Brahmaputra Valley, and grant citizenship for Bengali Hindus,” he said.
He also assured monthly cash benefits under a State government scheme for 26 lakh families in Assam.
Mr Suklabaidya’s main rivals are Radheyshyam Biswas of the Trinamool and Surya Kanta Sarkar of Congress.
Silchar is one of four parliamentary constituencies in Assam where Congress and the Trinamool are rivals despite being constituents of the INDIA bloc. The other seats are Barpeta, Kokrajhar, and Lakhimpur.