Himanta Biswa Sarma denies BJP-BJD alliance, claims Mallikarjun Kharge of facing memory loss

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while taking a dig at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge who earlier slammed BJP and BJD said that the Congress president is an elderly person and hence faces memory loss sometimes, however he respects him. 

The Chief Minister was speaking to the reporters in Odisha during an election campaign where he made the remarks. "We have not had any alliance with BJD ever since PM Modi formed the government. The BJP and the BJD have been contesting separately since 2014. Khargeji is an elderly person. He has a memory loss sometimes, but we respect him," said CM Sarma.

Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge slammed both BJP and BJP for allegedly destroying an important state like Odisha. Kharge lamented the absence of substantial development initiatives in the state, particularly highlighting the prolonged tenure of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, spanning over a quarter-century. Despite Odisha's abundant natural resources, which serve as a bedrock for external industries, Kharge asserted that the state has failed to capitalize on these assets to foster local employment or catalyse overall development.

Citing data from the International Labour Organization (ILO), Kharge under,lined Odisha's alarming unemployment rate, currently standing at a staggering 41 percent, a figure indicative of systemic failures in governance. Furthermore, he pointedly criticised the BJD administration, levying accusations of corruption, particularly in relation to scandals such as the chit fund and mining scams. Kharge exhorted the electorate to reject both the incumbent BJD government and the BJP, holding them accountable for the state's stagnation.

Questioning the credibility of the BJP and BJD in soliciting voter support amidst a backdrop of scant developmental progress over the past decade and a half, Kharge challenged their narrative of progress. Expressing confidence in the impending electoral outcomes, Kharge projected a limited electoral mandate for the BJP at the national level, alongside a forecast of the eventual political demise of the Naveen Patnaik-led government in Odisha, envisaging a resurgence of the Congress party in the state.