Cong victory in Nagaon, Dhubri threat to state’s social fabric: CM

Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday termed the election result of Nagaon and Dhubri Lok Sabha constituencies, where BJP lost to Congress by huge margins, “dangerous” and said it signified the fragility of Assam’s social fabric. The CM’s statement was in the backdrop of the high number of Bangladesh-origin Muslim migrant voters in the two constituencies.
Sarma was referring to the crushing defeat handed down by Rakibul Hussain to sitting MP and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal in Dhubri, and the landside victory of sitting MP Pradyut Bordoloi over BJP’s Suresh Borah.While Hussain beat Ajmal by over 10 lakh votes, the country’s highest winning margin, Bordoloi won by a margin of 2,12,231 votes.
He said, “The dangerous election results of Nagaon and Dhubri have again proved that the foundation of the social fabric of Assam is very weak. What does this signify? It shows the danger in front of our society and our nationality.”
Pointing out that the Muslim population’s growth rate of 29% could lead to an increase in the victory margin in Dhubri to 12 lakh in the next decade, Sarma also highlighted that Bordoloi’s win in Nagaon was attributed to leads the winner got from the Muslim-majority assembly segments while BJP led in all Hindu-dominated constituencies.
“Think about the lead by over 10 lakh votes and not a single Hindu voted there (Dhurbi), one can guess how much is the danger it posed to our social fabric,” Sarma remarked and stressed that Hussain’s victory margin serves as a warning for Assam's society, particularly in lower, middle and north Assam.
Sarma also said he pledged support to those feeling insecure in the Dhubri constituency following the election outcome and emphasized the need for a strong challenge from BJP and people with nationalistic fervour to prevent Assam from being “washed away”.
The chief minister further said Muslims, who constitute about 40% of Assam’s total population, have become “completely polarised” towards the Congress party. He alleged that despite benefiting from various welfare schemes of the state govt, development was not a priority for the Muslim community when they voted.
“Earlier, AIUDF and Congress both used to get Muslim votes, but this time all votes shifted to Congress. With around 90% of the polled votes from Muslims in Nagaon, Barpeta and Dhubri going to Congress, it has become a Muslim party,” he claimed.
The BJP leader also pointed out that while Hindus are not communal, as evidenced by the victory of Congress candidate Gaurav Gogoi in Jorhat, “there is a need to combat communalism within Muslim society”.