Assam identity pitch, RSS work led to lotus bloom

NEW DELHI: History happened in Assam on Thursday. BJP will rule a north-east state for the first time. Many doubted if such a triumph was ever possible.

An estimated 34% of Assam’s population are Muslims; another 3.7% are Christians. Most minorities don’t vote for the saffron outfit. BJP’s combine with Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland’s People’s Front gathered over 41% votes. BJP campaign managers say the triumph was the result of a carefully-charted long-term strategy where the RSS played a key role.

“Senior dedicated RSS cadres have been working in Bodoland and the upper Assam tribal belt for years. About 500 Ekal Vidyalalayas was a key contributor and Lok Jagran Manch, also created by Sangh, helped win over intellectuals,” said Rajat Sethi, one of BJP’s campaign managers in Assam. Sethi also pointed out that BJP’s Ram Madhav, with strong RSS links, was the main strategiser while Himanta Biswa Sarma put in the hard miles for organisational ground work.

“Our khilonjiya (indigenous) campaign was aimed at saving Assam for the Assamiya,” Sethi said. Sources say making Sarbananda Sonowal, an AGP leader till 2011, BJP’s CM candidate increased the party’s acceptability among tribal communities and augmented its foothold among Biharis, Marwaris and Hindu Bengalis. Haamim Kutub Javed Ahmed, executive member of BJP’s minority cell in Assam, says there was a general anti-incumbency mood in Assam, and everyone including minorities, wanted change. He estimates that in at least 15 minority-dominated constituencies, BJP got a share of Muslim votes, especially those of Assamese Muslims, who are traditionally Congress voters. Though Congress got the highest vote share in Assam (31%), BJP jumped from 12% votes in 2011 assembly polls to 29.5% in 2016. Yashwant Deshmukh of C-Voter says that the BJP-led alliance primarily benefited from a huge anti-incumbency wave.