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Tag: Assam BJP

  • BJP, ally United People’s Party Liberal win both seats from Assam in Rajya Sabha polls

    By ANI

    GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday announced that the BJP and its ally United People’s Party Liberal won one seat each, thus bagging both the seats from the state in the ongoing Rajya Sabha elections.

    BJP candidate Pabitra Margherita secured 46 votes while its ally party UPPL’s candidate Rwngwra Narzary secured 44 votes. Congress candidate Ripun Bora secured 35 votes whereas 1 vote was cancelled. With this victory, the BJP’s number in the Upper House reached the 100 mark and it is the first party to do so since 1988.

    Assam Chief Minister took to Twitter to announce the victory and said, “We won both the Rajya Sabha seats from Assam (one by the BJP and other by UPPL, our partner) by a huge margin of 11 and 9 votes respectively.”

    The Chief Minister also extended greetings to the winners and said that the state has reposed faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi by electing two NDA candidates to the Rajya Sabha.”Assam has reposed its faith in PM Sri @narendramodi ji by electing two NDA candidates to the Rajya Sabha by huge margins – BJP’s Sri Pabitra Margherita (won by 11 votes) & UPPL’s Sri Rwngwra Narzary (won by 9 votes). My compliments to winners,” Sarma tweeted.

    Assam has reposed its faith in PM Sri @narendramodi ji by electing two NDA candidates to the Rajya Sabha by huge margins – BJP’s Sri Pabitra Margherita (won by 11 votes) & UPPL’s Sri Rwngwra Narzary (won by 9 votes).My compliments to winners @AmitShah @JPNadda @blsanthosh pic.twitter.com/Lozn8hkNGg
    — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) March 31, 2022
    For the first time, Congress will have no Rajya Sabha MP from Assam.

    The poor performance of the Congress in assembly polls across five states will impact its Rajya Sabha numbers and the party is now staring at the possibility of losing the Leader of Opposition status in the upper house of Parliament.

    After binneial polls to Upper House are held this year, Congress numbers will be at a historic low and likely to be close to the minimum strength required to maintain the Leader of Opposition status. If the party is unable to do well in Gujarat polls later this year and the Karnataka assembly polls next year, it could lose this status in the subsequent binneial elections to the upper House.

    Earlier, the Congress party had filed a complaint before the Election Commission of India that some BJP MLAs had violated the rules of Rajya Sabha polls and the Congress party demanded that those MLAs votes should be cancelled.

    After complete verification, the ECI has directed the Election officials to start the counting of votes.

  • BJP will continue to induct people from other parties, says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma 

    By PTI
    GERUKAMUKH: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday that the process of inducting people from different political parties into the BJP will continue, as he welcomed former Congress MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi to the party fold.

    Speaking at a party programme in the Dhemaji district, Sarma said that inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ideals and hard work to build a developed nation, many political leaders and workers have joined the BJP.

    “It is my firm belief that a day will come when all people and organisations of the state will be associated with the BJP and help in building a strong and developed nation,” he said.

    The process of inducting people into the BJP from other parties began in 2014, it continued with many leaders joining before the assembly polls this year, while several others have expressed their interest to join after the polls, Sarma said.

    “This is primarily due to the confidence and faith that people have in the prime minister’s vision and leadership,” he added.

    ALSO READ | Big jolt for Congress in Assam as four-time party MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi joins BJP

    Referring to Kurmi, the chief minister said that he is a youth leader who represents not only the aims and aspirations of the tea tribe community but also the people of the state.

    “Be it the Assam-Nagaland border issue, development of his constituency and the state, or schemes for the tea tribe community, Kurmi has always been vocal and at the forefront to highlight the issues.

    We are hopeful that he will continue to work for the development of his constituency and the state,” he said.

    Kurmi, a four-time MLA, was in the Congress for a longer period “than me and will have a better understanding of that party and reasons for leaving it”, Sarma said.

    Kurmi said that he delayed joining the BJP and should have switched over much earlier.

    “Many people are saying that I have joined BJP for some post or opportunities but let me make it clear that I do not want any post but only an opportunity to work for the development and progress of the people and the state,” he said.

    As an opposition legislator, “it was our responsibility to criticise the ruling party but we did not realise that the public had immense faith and hope in this party for helping them to realise their dreams and aspirations”, he said.

    The vision of the chief minister to work for the indigenous population, safeguard their rights and check the growth of a minority community have been the major motivating factors to join the BJP, he said.

    Kurmi resigned from the Congress and as an MLA on June 18, alleging that both the national and state leaders of the party ignore the grassroot-level workers, the youths and the marginalised communities.

    Son of former Congress minister Rupam Kurmi, he represented the Mariani constituency in Golaghat district for four consecutive terms since 2006.

    Kurmi is the second Congress MLA to join the BJP with former Congress minister and Golaghat legislator Ajanta Neog switching over before the polls.

    She contested and won from the same constituency as a BJP candidate and became the first woman finance minister of the state.

  • Setback for Congress in Assam as four-time MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi quits party to join BJP

    By Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Congress suffered a setback in Assam after four-time sitting MLA and tea garden community leader, Rupjyoti Kurmi resigned from the party on Friday to join the BJP.

    He will wear saffron at a programme on Monday in the presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and contest the by-elections. The Congress expelled him from its primary membership.

    The family of the 43-year-old had been associated with the Congress since 1980s. He has held the Mariani seat since 2006. His mother, the late Rupam Kurmi who represented the constituency for three terms on the trot, had died while serving as a Congress Minister.

    Kurmi was miffed that the young leaders allegedly had no place in the party. He said he had written to party president Sonia Gandhi stating that he was born and brought up in a Congress family and served the party sincerely but it did not accord him due importance.

    He told journalists that many deserving party workers were denied a position while a few were holding two to three posts.

    “I was interviewed by (party’s Assam in-charge) Jitendra Singh and (former Meghalaya CM) Mukul Sangma for the post of Leader of Opposition but was eventually denied the position despite a commitment. I was also not considered for the posts of Pradesh Congress president and chairman of Public Accounts Committee,” a livid Kurmi said.

    ALSO READ | Assam Cabinet against conducting board examinations for Classes 10, 12: Minister

    He slammed the party’s state and central leaderships for the poll debacle in Assam as well as Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.

    “We had disapproved of the Congress’s alliance with the AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front). We had warned that we would be uprooted by people from Upper Assam. However, the leaders ignored our warning. The party in Assam is run by one-two persons. One of them asserts himself as the leader of the minority community,” Kurmi said.

    The Congress suffered in the polls due to its dismal performance in Upper Assam where a strong sentiment of Assamese sub-nationalism works. The voters in this region could not accept the Congress’s poll alignment with the minority-based AIUDF.

    Kurmi said it was due to the failures of central leaders that the party fared very poorly in the elections. He said as the leadership was in no mood to listen to young leaders, the party’s organisational base weakened in the five states.

    He credited Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot with the party’s success in Rajasthan, Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh, and Capt Amarinder Singh in Punjab. “We did not find any contributions of central leaders in these states,” Kurmi said.

    He appreciated the Assam CM’s drive against drug menace and efforts to rid temples and “satras” (Vaishnavite prayer centres) of encroachment and protect the “Gaumata”.

  • Assam Congress MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi resigns, set to join BJP 

    By PTI
    HUWAHATI: In a jolt to the opposition Congress in Assam, Mariani legislator Rupjyoti Kurmi on Friday resigned from the party and the assembly, announcing that he will join the BJP soon.

    The tea community leader tendered his resignation to Speaker Biswajit Daimary at his assembly office here.

    Kurmi told reporters that he has tendered his resignation to AICC President Sonia Gandhi.

    The four-time MLA said he will join the saffron party on June 21.

    The Congress, meanwhile, expelled Kurmi from the party for “his anti-party activities”.

    Assam Pradesh Congress President Ripun Bora said in a statement that the decision was approved by the All India Congress Committee.

    Bora also constituted a three-member team, led by former MLA Rana Goswami, to visit Mariani assembly constituency and take stock of the political situation there.

    Thowra MLA Sushanta Borgohain and Manoj Dhanowar are other members of the team.

    Kurmi, a prominent member of the tea tribe community, is the son of former Congress minister late Rupam Kurmi, and has been elected from Mariani constituency since 2006.

  • Himanta Biswa Sarma sworn in as Chief Minister of Assam

    By ANI
    GUWAHATI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn in as the 15th Chief Minister of Assam at 12 noon on Monday, replacing former Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

    Sarma, who was the charioteer of Bharatiya Janta Party’s stride in the Northeast was administered the oath in presence of state Governor Jagdish Mukhi, the BJP national President JP Nadda and other leaders.

    Himanta Biswa selected for the role after a crucial meeting was chaired in Delhi by BJP chief JP Nadda on Sunday.

    The BJP has stormed back to power in the crucial Northeastern state retaining its hold on the government.

    Known to have played a pivotal role in the BJP’s growing footprint in the Northeast, Sarma left the Congress in 2015 despite being close to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi as he felt sidelined.

    The minister’s popularity has been key in the National Democratic Alliance’s victory in the Assembly polls in Assam with the alliance returning to power overcoming the stiff challenge posed by the Congress-led alliance

    He was a key campaigner of the party and strongly and strategically articulated its position on various issues in the state which has a diverse population with sometimes competing interests.

    On being announced the Chief Minister of the state Sarma took to Twitter to express his gratitude to the people of the state.

    “With fragrance of Assam in my heart & love of my wonderful people in my veins, I offer my deepest gratitude to you all. I would not have been what I am had it not been for your pious faith in me. On this Day, I vow to work with & for each one of you with greater passion Assam,” he tweeted.

    In another tweet, he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, “This is the biggest day in my life, and I so fondly cherish your generous affection. I assure you we shall leave no stone unturned to carry forward your vision of taking Assam, & NE to greater heights.”

  • Himanta Biswa Sarma to take oath as Assam Chief Minister on May 10

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Ending days of uncertainty, the BJP on Sunday named party strongman Himanta Biswa Sarma as its Assam chief ministerial candidate.

    The decks were cleared after he was elected as the leader of BJP legislature party in the presence of central observers including Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, BL Santhosh, Arun Singh and Vaijyanta Panda.

    The name of Sarma was proposed by outgoing CM Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by BJP state chief and MLA Ranjeet Kumar Dass and MLA Nandita Garlosa.

    “As no other name was proposed, Sarma was elected unanimously as the BJP legislature party leader,” Tomar said.

    ALSO READ | Sonowal to be a guide, grateful to PM for support: Himanta Biswa Sarma

    Later in the evening, Sarma along with Sonowal and other leaders of BJP-led alliance met Governor Jagdish Mukhi and submitted a list of legislators to him, staking claim to form the government. The alliance of BJP, Asom Gana Parishad and United People’s Party Liberal had bagged a combined 75 seats in the 126-member House.

    Sarma as well as some ministers will be administered the oath of office and secrecy on Monday. Outgoing CM Sonowal tendered his resignation to the Governor, but was asked to continue in office till the new government is installed.

    Earlier in the day, Sarma visited Sonowal and left in the same vehicle to attend the BJP legislature party meeting. Later, both posed together for photos.

    On Saturday, the duo had rushed to Delhi in a chartered flight after being summoned by the party’s central leaders who met them separately before meeting them together at party chief JP Nadda’s residence.

    Sonowal accepted the transition with a smile.

    Speaking after a meeting of NDA legislature party, he highlighted how the BJP government had managed to restore peace in the state.

    “The government had managed to restore peace and ensure progress and security. People’s faith and trust in us increased as evident from this victory. Given his long experience, I am confident Mr Himanta Biswa Sarma will be able to deliver,” Sonowal said.

    READ HERE | Himanta Biswa Sarma: Chief architect of BJP’s success in Northeast

    Sarma said Assam had seen value-based politics in the last five years under Sonowal. He said there are some dark spots in the moon but Sonowal’s tenure was spotless.

    “We will march ahead by following in his (Sonowal’s) footsteps. I promise the new government will maintain value-based politics. Sonowal was our leader and he will remain so,” Sarma said.

    He expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reposing faith in him.

    “How enormously blessed I feel Hon PM Sri @narendramodi for your faith in me. This is the biggest day in my life, and I so fondly cherish your generous affection. I assure you we shall leave no stone unturned to carry forward your vision of taking Assam, & NE to greater heights,” Sarma tweeted.

    He was prepared for this moment. He did all that he could to retain the attention of party’s central leaders. Even before other parties launched their election campaign, he had taken out rallies and organised roadshows across the state with thousands of BJP workers and supporters to prove his popularity.

    His filing of nomination was a gala affair. Several thousand supporters accompanied him. Manipur CM N Biren Singh and BJP’s two central leaders were also present. Sonowal’s was a low-key affair.

    The BJP got strengthened in Assam and Northeast ever since Sarma deserted the Congress and wore saffron. It was he who hoisted the BJP flag across the region and was rightly rewarded. 

  • Sonowal to be a guide, grateful to PM for support: Himanta Biswa Sarma after being chosen Assam CM-elect

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister-elect Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday asserted that his predecessor Sarbananda Sonowal “will continue to remain a ‘marg-darshak’ (guide)”.

    Sarma, after being elected unanimously as the leader of the NDA legislature party, said in his address that he was grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda, Sonowal, and all other party leaders for giving him an opportunity to serve the people of the state, and pledged to carry out his duties with “dedication and honesty”.

    Effusive in his praise for Sonowal, the saffron party leader, who is also the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor, described his tenure as one “unblemished without a single charge of corruption or any other allegation”.

    “He practised politics of values. Sonowal is a leader with a foresight, someone who had the vision of uniting the people of ‘Barak-Brahmaputra-plains-hills’ while ensuring no section of the society was left behind.

    He was our leader and will remain so as our ‘marg-darshak’.

    “He had immense faith in me and gave me important portfolios. He inspired me to serve the people well. I promise to follow the path that he has shown us in the last five years,” the CM-designate said.

    ALSO READ | Himanta Biswa Sarma: Chief architect of BJP’s success in Northeast

    Sarma also expressed his gratitude to the prime minister for “prioritising North East since 2014, ushering in development in the region, facilitating connectivity through rail, road, air, information and technology”.

    The CM-elect thanked Modi for visiting the state’s “nooks and corners” during elections to hold campaigns not just for the BJP candidates but also nominees of its alliance partners — the AGP and the UPPL.

    “We are particularly grateful to the PM for giving due respect and recognition to our ‘gamosa’. Even when he was administered the vaccine, he had it around his neck.

    This love of his for the ‘gamosa’ fills every Assamese heart, including mine, with immense pride,” he stated.

    The NEDA convenor further said that Shah and Nadda have also “given us the strength and determination to march towards our goal, and for this we shall be indebted to them”.

    “It was due to the Union home minister’s meticulous planning that peace returned to the Bodo and the Karbi areas, bringing along with it new hopes for the tribal communities,” he underlined.

    “History has been created by the BJP and its allies as it is the first non-Congress government to be retain power for the second successive term in the state,” Sarma said, congratulating the newly elected MLAs of all three parties of the NDA.

    He urged the legislators to ensure that the poorest of the poor are attended to.

    “We have to dedicate ourselves to the service of the state, to help realise the dream of making Assam one of the top five states in the country,” he added.

    Sarma was elected to the assembly from the Jalukbari assembly constituency for the fifth consecutive term.

  • Himanta Biswa Sarma: Chief architect of BJP’s success in Northeast

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: For BJP strongman Himanta Biswa Sarma, it is a long-cherished aspiration that has fructified. 

    As he dons the Assam chief minister’s mantle on Monday, the fierce campaigner, who is also the architect of the BJP’s success story in not just Assam but the entire Northeast and an able administrator, has finally come of age. 

    Many in Assam were surprised that the BJP central leadership had to go through the motion of so many deliberations before naming a face that every Assamese, irrespective of ethnic background, relates to. 

    It has been a long wait for Sarma who was once the blue-eyed boy of three-time former Congress CM, the late Tarun Gogoi, and seen even within the Congress as a natural successor of Gogoi. The two had fallen out with each other following Gogoi’s US-educated son Gaurav’s emergence in Assam’s political landscape.

    It is history how the Congress missed the bus and not Sarma when he was not given the place that he deserved as a Young Turk after having won the support of a large majority of MLAs during the 2014-15 dissidence within the party.

    The BJP did not commit that mistake. It rewarded him for all that he has achieved for the party in the past six years, including hoisting the party flag across the Northeast.

    In 2017, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had shared a video of his dog Pidi on Twitter to answer who “tweets for Rahul Gandhi” but Sarma shot back, being reminded of an incident involving the pet.

    He had tweeted: “Sir @OfficeOfRG, who knows him better than me. Still remember you busy feeding biscuits 2 him while we wanted to discuss urgent Assam’s issues.”

    Born into a highly-educated family on February 1, 1969 in Jorhat, Sarma had started his political career with the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU). He grew up under the shadow of the then AASU leaders, including former CM Prafulla Kumar Mahanta of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and former AGP minister Bhrigu Phukan.

    He served the Cotton College Union Society as general secretary for three terms in 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1991-1992. He is a post-graduate in political science, an LLB and a Ph.D who also practised law at the Gauhati High Court. 

    Former CM Hiteswar Saikia could see the spark in Sarma and made him join the Congress in the first half of 1990s. In 1996, the Congress fielded him in the Jalukbari seat, pitting him against Phukan who groomed him in the AASU. He lost by 17,128 votes. Five years later however, he defeated Phukan by 10,019 votes. He has retained the seat since. 

    Noting his ability as a minister and his political wisdom, observers say Sarma should have become the Assam CM long back. After falling out with Gogoi, he had joined the BJP in 2015. When Assam won the 2016 polls, the BJP took the lead in forming the non-Congress conglomerate of political parties called North East Democratic Alliance and made him its convenor.

    He has not only contributed to the prowess of the BJP in Assam but also consolidated the BJP’s organisational base across the region.

    A master election strategist who is widely known for his political acumen, he was instrumental in scripting the BJP’s victory in Assam as well as Tripura, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. Today, the BJP is also a constituent of the ruling coalition of Nagaland and Meghalaya.

    Sarma had played a key role in toppling the Peoples’ Party of Arunachal government in 2016 when 33 of its 43 MLAs, led by CM Pema Khandu, joined the BJP.

    He did not stop there. The next year, he helped the BJP form a government for the first time in Manipur. The BJP had won 22 seats as against the Congress’s 28 in the 60-member House but he managed to cobble up the numbers by engineering defections.

    Most recently, when legislators, including ministers, of some BJP allies had withdrawn support to the N Biren Singh government, reducing it to a minority, it was Sarma again who had troubleshot the problem with patch-up job. Undisputedly, nobody in the Northeast is better than him when it comes to making or breaking a government.

  • Who will be next Assam CM? Announcement likely on Sunday after legislature party meeting

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The BJP is likely to announce the name of the next Assam chief minister on Sunday after a meeting of the legislature party in Guwahati.

    While leaving the residence of party national president JP Nadda in New Delhi on Saturday, Himanta Biswa Sarma asked journalists to wait till the legislature party meeting.

    “Don’t ask me any question. The BJP (Assam) Legislature Party is likely to meet in Guwahati tomorrow. You will get the answers to all (your) questions there,” he said before hastily leaving the place.

    Initially, the waiting scribes had approached the car of Sarbananda Sonowal but he did not come out. Sarma’s car was behind Sonowal’s car. The BJP strongman came out and made the statement without being approached.

    ALSO READ | Question mark continues to hang over next Assam CM leaving BJP leaders embarrassed

    Called by the central leaders, the duo had left Guwahati in a chartered flight on Saturday morning. They were accompanied by BJP MLAs Taranga Gogoi and Bimal Bora.

    BJP central leaders including Shah, BL Santhosh, Narendra Singh Tomar, Baijayant Panda besides Nadda held three rounds of meetings with Sonowal and Sarma. First, the meeting was with Sarma and then with Sonowal. The third meeting was with both.

    It is felt that the BJP central leadership has already made the decision and it will be conveyed to the party MLAs during the legislature party meeting. Two central observers are likely to be present at the legislature party meeting.

    They will accompany the two BJP biggies when they return to Guwahati on Saturday evening on the same chartered flight.

    Clearly, there are two BJP factions in Assam. MLAs loyal to Sarma met him on Monday after the declaration of results of elections on Sunday. They met him again on Friday.

  • Assam polls: Can Congress stop BJP juggernaut?

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The results of the Assam elections on Sunday will decide if the BJP retains power or a nationally-weakened Congress stages a comeback.

    Assam, in one way, is a vital state for both parties. For the BJP, the state is important not just for the party organisation but also for party ideology – the National Register of Citizens or NRC is its flagship ideological programme.

    For the Congress, which is losing almost everywhere, the return to power will give the party much-needed oxygen. The exit polls have given an edge to the BJP-led ruling coalition which has the regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) as components.

    Similarly, 10 parties, led by the Congress, had formed a grand alliance of Opposition ahead of the polls. Its two other key constituents are minority-based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), which is an estranged ally of the BJP.

    The elections were fought on the planks of development, welfare of state’s tea garden community, Citizenship (Amendment) Act, waiving off the loans of women taken from microfinance institutions, giving jobs to the unemployed, protecting the “satras” (Vaishnavite prayer centres) and the rhinos etc.

    Forty-seven of the state’s 126 seats, which went to first phase elections on March 27, will be decisive for the BJP. In the 2016 polls, the BJP-AGP combine had bagged 35 of them, spread across five Parliamentary constituencies of Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Tezpur and Kaliabor in Upper and Northern Assam. They have large numbers of Assamese and tea garden voters.

    ALSO READ | Assam logs record 26 COVID deaths in one day, 3,197 new cases; night curfew extended till May 7

    For long, the tea workers had voted for the Congress until they started shifting allegiance to the BJP in 2014. The BJP initiated several steps for the welfare of the community and also doled out money to keep them in good humour but failed to give them a daily wage of Rs 350 despite a commitment. Raising it from the existing Rs 167 to Rs 365 was one of the five “guarantees” announced by the Congress.

    If the first phase polls were more about the fate of the ruling coalition, particularly BJP and AGP, the stakes were high for the Congress-AIUDF combine in the next two phases across constituencies in the Barak Valley and Central and Lower Assam.

    Bengali Muslims, considered the vote banks of Congress and AIUDF, are in a large majority in a number of the seats. The two parties had come together to thwart the split of anti-BJP votes. In the last elections, their combined vote share was more than that of the winning candidates from the BJP coalition in 14 seats.

    Thirty-nine constituencies went to the second phase polls on April 1. Fifteen of them were in the Bengali-majority Barak Valley where Hindus and Muslims constitute a nearly equal percentage of populations. The BJP had won eight seats, AIUDF four and Congress three in 2016. This time, however, the Congress-AIUDF combine was expected to fare better, thanks to their alliance.

    The Opposition alliance also had an edge over the ruling alliance in the final phase polls held in 40 constituencies of Lower Assam on April 6. In 2016, BJP and Congress had won 11 seats each, AIUDF six, BPF eight and AGP four.

    One factor that could possibly harm the BJP was its decision to sever ties with the BPF and align with the UPPL in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). The BPF had won all 12 seats in the BTR in 2016.

    The BJP will also suffer somewhat due to the birth of two regional entities – Asom Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dal. The perception was that the two new entrants would cause the split of AGP votes, for the options for people believing in regionalism, had widened. A loss for the AGP is a loss for the BJP.

    Meanwhile, both alliances have trashed the exit-poll predictions. According to the BJP’s assessment, the party will bag 70 seats, AGP eight and UPPL five. However, questioning the scientific basis and sample size of exit polls and alleging that they are manipulated, the Congress claimed the Opposition alliance would win at least 75 seats.