GUWAHATI: Taking potshots at the BJP leadership ahead of the Assembly polls in Assam, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath today said that the saffron party will take all major decisions -- including who will be the chief minister of the state -- in New Delhi.
"The decisions for Assam or anywhere else are made by two people sitting in Delhi. The post of party president or state leaders doesn’t hold any value for them. Even for Assam, Mama’s Gujarati bosses have decided and will decide who the CM will be, how Assam needs to be governed," Nath said here.
Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma -- one of the frontrunners for the post -- is nicknamed 'Mama' by his supporters.
Sarma, the party's key strategist, on Thursday, said any "lobbying" before PM Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah has no value and that he will go by their decision on whether incumbent Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, he or any third person will head the ruling alliance if it retains power in Assam.
Meanwhile, party president Ranjeet Dass has said that the party will decide on the chief ministerial candidate only after the results of the state election are out on May 2.
"Tomorrow is the first phase of the Assembly elections for Assam. The core focus in all of Congress’s efforts has been the people of Assam. Our vision plan, our guarantees have all been centered around the people of Assam and how to take Assam forward," Nath said, adding that while the BJP has completely failed to present its performance scorecard for the last 5 years, it has only focused on 'politics of hatred' throughout the last few weeks.
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Even the conclusion of the first phase of the campaign saw the negative nature of their campaign and the hatred that they have to offer.
It has been a consistent theme of their ideology- the farmers have been protesting for more than 120 days now but the PM doesn’t have the time to speak to them.
The Congress party, throughout the campaign, has maintained that all our efforts will be positive and directed towards the betterment of Assam and protecting the Assamese identity.
We have gone to the people with a shared vision- what the people of Assam want and how will Congress deliver upon it.
"Congress has made 5 Guarantees to the people of Assam that is core to what Assam stands for...A-Assure employment by 5 lakh government jobs and 25 lakh private jobs, S- safeguard the Assamese Identity by stopping the implementation of CAA, S- secure the rights of tea workers by increasing daily wages to Rs 365, A- augment disposable incomes by helping households save Rs 1400 per month (200 units free electricity), M- make women stronger by Rs 2000 per month to every housewife," he added.
All sons and daughters of the Assam soil from the Congress will be your partners in the development journey of Assam for the next 5 years and beyond, Nath said.