GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday exuded confidence that the BJP will win 11 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the upcoming polls.
He said the saffron party will also ”try to secure the 12th seat” in the state.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Majuli, Sarma said that Lok Sabha ticket aspirants will send their applications to BJP observers during the day and the list will be sent to Delhi for the first round of discussions on the probable list of candidates.
”We do not want the process to be a long-drawn one so that there is not much chance of lobbying for candidature,” he said.
”I am not interested in knowing the names of the candidates. People will vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added.
Asked about the number of seats the BJP is likely to win in the Lok Sabha polls in the state, Sarma said, ”We are sure to win decisively in 11 constituencies, while we will try our best to bag another seat.” Sarma led a 100-km motorcycle rally from Kareng Chapori in Dhemaji to Majuli, riding a motorcycle himself, before participating in a series of programmes that included the distribution of land documents and the launch of development initiatives in the world’s largest river island.
He said that during the motorcycle journey on ”roads constructed in schemes initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi”, he witnessed ”excitement and enthusiasm among people, which made it clear that the NDA would cross the 400 mark this time”.
The chief minister also distributed land documents to 10,932 beneficiaries under phase 2 of the Mission Basundhara scheme in Majuli, considered the cradle of Vaishnavite culture in the state.
”The indigenous people will now benefit immensely from the ownership rights of their ancestral lands,” he said.
Sarma said that a legislation will be enacted soon to create a ”protective heritage belt” so that their lands remain with them for generations to come.
”The ownership rights of their ancestral land will safeguard the interests of the people of this beautiful island,” he added.
In Assam, the BJP currently has nine MPs, while the Congress has three, and the AIUDF one. There is also an Independent MP.
Source: Press Trust of India
