The BJP is rushing Union agriculture minister and party observer Narendra Singh Tomar to Assam on Wednesday in order to break the ice over the CM candidate. The party has not been able to decide the same even three days after winning the Assembly elections.
The BJP and its allies won 75 of the 126 Assembly seats in the results declared on Sunday, but the party is still undecided between Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Unlike 2016 Assembly polls, BJP did not announce the CM candidate before the polls, fuelling speculation that the party could replace Sonowal with Sarma, who is seen as the party's election strategist. Sources said even as the party leaders in New Delhi wants Sonowal to continue, the fact that most of the elected MLAs are Sarma's loyalists has put the party in a difficult situation.
"Tomar is likely to come to Guwahati tomorrow to talk to all stakeholders. I have not yet been contacted by the central leadership and, as far as I know, the Parliamentary board headed by PM Narendra Modi will take a decision after getting feedback from all stakeholders," BJP's Assam unit president, Ranjeet Kumar Dass, said on Tuesday.
When asked by reporters that he was a probable candidate for the CM post, Sarma said, "If I am a probable candidate, then why are you asking me this question? Let the Parliamentary board decide."
Sarma's clout in the BJP rose since he quit Congress in August 2015 and joined the saffron party.
Party insiders say PM Modi is in favour of Sonowal for his "clean image" and performance in the past five years, but some other senior leaders want Sarma for his astuteness and ability to manage the crisis, both for the party and the government.
Published 04 May 2021, 13:26 IST