Thaindian News

Nagaon (Assam), Sep 29 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) kicked off its election campaign for next year’s assembly polls in Assam by launching a frontal attack on the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), its ally who snapped ties a fortnight ago.

“You have given a chance to both the hand (election symbol of the Congress party) and the elephant (AGP’s symbol), now it is time for you to gracefully dump the hand in the Brahmaputra and lovingly send the elephant to Kaziranga,” firebrand BJP MP Varun Gandhi said.

Gandhi, in-charge of the BJP’s polls for Assam, said this at a largely-attended public rally at Nagaon in central Assam, a stronghold of the AGP and the home district of former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.

“Give a chance to let the lotus bloom in Assam and we ensure you a prosperous Assam, free from illegal Bangladeshis,” Gandhi said amid thunderous applause from the crowd.

The AGP snapped ties with the BJP two weeks ago — ending a year-long honeymoon that began during last year’s parliamentary elections.

The AGP and the BJP fought the parliamentary elections together under a seat-sharing arrangement. The regional party fared poorly — it won just one of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, down by one compared to the 2004 general elections.

The AGP also had a tie-up with the BJP in 2001 assembly elections but was routed by the Congress.

“The AGP should make its stand clear on the issue of illegal Bangladeshis. The party that came to power on the issue of infiltration is now almost silent,” BJP leader Vijay Goel said.

BJP president Nitin Gadkari too was vocal in his speech, highlighting the issue of infiltration and making digs at the AGP for its silence.

“Talking about infiltration does not make the party communal. We are only against Bangladeshi migrants and it is our commitment that if voted to power, the BJP would make Assam free from all infiltrators,” Gadkari said.

The BJP leaders made several election promises — offering cash rewards to all families below the poverty line of Rs.25,000 each during their daughter’s marriage.

“When a family plans to get their daughters married, they face a lot of hardships and some of them even mortgage their properties. If voted to power, the BJP government would provide cash incentives of Rs.25,000 to the family during their daughter’s marriage,” Gandhi said.

Goel made a passing remark about Thursday’s court verdict on the Ayodhya dispute, saying the “real character of the Congress would be reflected after the verdict”.

“We would see how much the Congress party respects the Indian culture and tradition after the court verdict,” Goel said.