Top leaders of BJP in Assam on Thursday claimed that the saffron party and its regional allies will form the government again with a record number of seats as people "wholeheartedly" voted for them due to the developmental works in the past five years.
Das along with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma addressed the media in Guwahati two days after polling for 126 Assembly seats concluded. Over 82.04% of people cast their votes during the three-phase polling on March 27, April 1 and April 6.
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BJP and its allies, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) set a target of 100 plus seats. But the Congress-led grand alliance comprising seven opposition parties including Badruddin Ajmal's AIUDF and BPF, an ally of BJP in 2016 said they would win at least 101 seats as people voted against BJP for bringing in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
BJP and its allies faced the ire of many indigenous Assamese people, particularly in the Brahmaputra Valley as they fear that the CAA would destroy their ethnic identity and culture by giving citizenship to a large number of post-1971 Hindu Bengali migrants from Bangladesh.
"Our alliance will win a record number of seats this time and form the government again," said Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is BJP's top election strategist in the Northeast.
BJP had won 60 seats while AGP and BPF bagged 14 and 12 seats each. BPF, however, is in the opposition camp this time.