Himanta Biswa Sarma not to contest election and focus on NEDA, confirms Amit Shah via Twitter

Guwahati, March 21, 2019:

BJP President Amit Shah has brought the internal issues of the saffron party out in the open for all to see as he has Tweeted regarding the ‘Himanta Biswa Sarma situation’ on Twitter.

The situation arose when Ranjeet Dass first announced that the BJP leadership would allow Himanta Biswa Sarma to contest from any Lok Sabha Constituency in the country. This led to the resignation of the sitting Tezpur MP R P Sarmah as the rumour mill started buzzing about Himanta’s nomination from Tezpur. But it was Ranjeet Dass again who poured cold water on Himanta’s Lok Sabha aspirations as he pointed out that Amit Shah had requested that the Assam Finance Minister look after the BJP’s turf in the Northeast instead of contesting the elections himself.

Now, Shah himself has clarified his stand on social networking site Twitter with a series of Tweets (as Twitter accepts a maximum of 140 characters only). ‘Chowkidar’ Amit Shah wrote: “The Assam Election Committee and the Assam BJP workers had forwarded Himanta Biswa Sarma’s name to the CEC. But the BJP requested him to look after the NEDA and further strengthen the party in Assam and the NorthEast as he is the convenor. I hope BJP workers in Assam and the NE will accept this decision and I hope this decision will further strengthen the party.”

Himanta, in a response to Amit Shah’s let-down said: “I am grateful to the trust you have shown in me and I humbly accept your decision. At a time when the nation’s desire to re-elect Modi is at an all-time high, the Northeast too shall not disappoint you.”

Thus, the writing on the wall has turned out to be true and Himanta Biswa Sarma truly has been denied a ticket due to the inner politics in the saffron party. Only time will tell whether the BJP will eventually regret this decision, but by forcing Himanta Biswa Sarma to sacrifice personal aspirations for the interests of the party, the BJP has surely hurt the sentiments of one of the committed and influential leaders of the BJP in the Northeast.