Only B’desh can help Cong get ‘tsunami of votes’: Assam Minister

Guwahati, Feb 3 : Senior BJP leader and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday that only Bangladesh can help the Congress get a “tsunami of votes” in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Leaders of the opposition Congress in Assam had claimed on Tuesday that “a tsunami of votes” would be cast in favour of the party and its allies in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, which are expected to take place in April-May this year.
Assam Congress President Ripun Bora sounded confident about the party’s position after the formation of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance) with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and three Left parties, including the CPI-M and the CPI, and one regional party — Anchalik Gana Morcha.
Sarma, who holds finance, PWD, health, education and other portfolios, while reacting to the Congress’ claim, said: “There’s no possibility of tsunami in Assam as the state is situated on the banks of rivers. Tsunami occurs in seas and that way, Bangladesh is better located. So their (Congress’) tsunami would only come from across the border.” Sarma’s comment can also be attributed as an oblique attack on the Congress’ alliance with the Muslim-based party AIUDF, which the BJP often accused of garnering support from “infiltrators”, those who illegally entered the bordering state from Bangladesh.
The AIUDF, led by Lok Sabha member Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, has majority followers and supporters from among the Bengali-speaking Muslims in western Assam and in southern Assam’s Barak Valley, both regions sharing 263 km borders with Bangladesh.