Saikia rules out BJP switch, denies seeking LS ticket

Guwahati: Congress leader Debabrata Saikia on Thursday ruled out joining BJP to contest the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket, saying he remains with Congress despite shifting political equations.The Nagaon seat fell vacant after Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned to contest the assembly election from Dispur, which he won.Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier said Saikia would lose the election and then join BJP.“The ruling party has spread a smear campaign against me, which is very unfortunate. The rumour that I am seeking a ticket for the Lok Sabha election is completely baseless. They have devised this futile strategy only to demoralise our dedicated Congress workers, but our morale remains strong,” Saikia said.Saikia added Congress lost for several reasons, citing the lure of welfare schemes, alleged threats of being denied benefits and, according to some people, EVMs. “I am still surprised how I lost by a big margin,” he said.He also linked the party’s prospects to the 2023 delimitation exercise, often blamed for reducing Muslim-majority seats from 35 to 22.Congress won 19 of those 22 seats this time, prompting BJP leaders to accuse it of becoming a “party of Muslim minorities”.AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal compared Congress in Assam with “Muslim League”. Saikia rejected the charge, saying, “In a secular country, it cannot not be one country, one religion even if RSS wishes to be so. It’s not possible till this Constitution is there.”