Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday strongly endorsed the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma at two back-to-back public rallies in poll-bound Assam, signalling the BJP’s intent to project continuity ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
Addressing a massive rally in Dibrugarh, Shah attacked the Opposition Congress over the issue of infiltration and asserted that the BJP would act firmly against illegal entrants under Sarma’s leadership.
“I promise from the soil of Assam’s second capital (Dibrugarh), Himanta ji ke netritya main yaha pe teesri baar BJP sarkar bana do, ek ek ghuspetiyo ko chun chun kar Assam ke bahar hum nikal denge. These infiltrators cannot help Assam or the country in any way,” Shah said.
The BJP has been heading a coalition government in Assam since 2016. Sarma took over as chief minister in May 2021, replacing Sarbananda Sonowal.
Assam Assembly polls are scheduled for March-April.
Later, at a rally in neighbouring Dhemaji district during the Mising Youth Festival, Shah again sought public support for the BJP, appealing specifically to the Mising community. “In the coming days, Assam will be having elections once again. For ten years, you have trusted kamal (lotus symbol), Narendra Modi ji and the BJP,” Shah said, adding, “We will enter the electoral field under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma ji. I earnestly request that BJP and kamal get the blessings of the Mising people.”
BJP observers said the central leadership appeared keen on continuity in the state’s leadership. “It is clear from Shah’s speeches today that Sarma will continue as the chief minister,” one of them said.
During his previous visit to Assam on December 29, Shah had appealed for a third term for the BJP but had not explicitly named Sarma in that context.
Shah on Friday laid the foundation stone for the new Assam Legislative Assembly building in Dibrugarh and inaugurated or launched five projects worth around ₹1,715 crore.
He accused past Congress governments of allowing infiltration for vote-bank politics, while claiming the present government had halted demographic change and freed over 1.26 lakh acres of land from encroachment. Shah asserted that systems were being created to check influx and that infiltrators already present would be identified
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