With the 2021 Assam assembly elections just a few months away the views of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS matter a lot for the aspirants of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who wish to contest from various constituencies.
If sources are to be believed the RSS is backing the present Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal to again take over the throne at Dispur. Along with him, even his aides are being backed by the Hindutva organization.
“RSS is backing Sarbananda Sonowal to again become the chief minister of Assam after 2021 assembly elections, and the organization (RSS) is also backing candidates like Santanu Bharali, who is a close aide of Sonowal, to contest from Gauhati East constituency,” said a highly placed source in the BJP.
The source expressed that though the present Gauhati East MLA, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, who is a cabinet minister, is also close to the Sangh, the chief minister has placed his full support on Santanu Bharali and therefore it is possible that Bharali may be fielded by the BJP from Gauhati East constituency. The Sangh, according to the source, is very happy with Sonowal’s performance as chief minister and wants him to again work as the chief minister. Enquiring from where Siddhartha Bhattacharya will contest, the source revealed that he might be fielded from Palashbari.
The BJP, prior to providing party tickets to any candidate from any constituency to contest in the elections, conducts a booth level survey on the applicants who may apply for tickets. The source revealed that the survey is ongoing in Gauhati East constituency, and the results will matter in providing tickets to either Bhattacharya or Bharali.
The source revealed that constituency-wise, the BJP leadership is analysing the vote share received in the last elections, and accordingly the votes are being counted. After a thorough investigation tickets will be allotted and the views of RSS will also matter.
But a senior RSS leader refused to conform to this information and talking to G Plus under the condition of anonymity said, “RSS never interferes in BJP’s political decisions and it is not responsible for selecting candidates.” But the RSS leader said that RSS only makes sure that the wrong candidates are not given the tickets. The leader expressed that the list will be discussed with the Sangh only to ensure that wrong candidates are not given the tickets.
A variety of rumours and speculations about the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) internal squirms circulating and political observers’ claims of there being lobbies within Assam BJP gave all indications that the present chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal might not get the opportunity to renew his oath in 2021. But if party sources who are in decision-making portfolios are to be believed, Sonowal remains the ultimate choice of the party leadership in Delhi to become the chief minister again in 2021.
“Sarbananda Sonowal will be the chief minister if BJP comes to power in 2021,” said a BJP leader under condition of anonymity. The member is also a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh member and very close to the party leadership in Delhi. Talking to G Plus, the leader said that Sonowal had joined BJP in 2011 and has been working for the party extensively. “He is liked the most by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said the leader.
So, if the leadership in Delhi and the RSS are both backing Sarbananda Sonowal as the chief minister again, all other calculations by various observers are looking like mere speculations.
With Sonowal gaining all backings even his aides will be in better position for the elections and other lobbies in BJP (if there are any) will have to compromise in many constituencies.
It needs to be mentioned that there are chances that the BJP state president Ranjeet Kumar Dass might not contest from Sorbhog and instead he might be contesting from Patacharkuchi.
This is because in the last elections Ranjeet Kumar Dass received 56,454 votes which comprise 33.33% of the total voters in Sorbhog. The Congress candidate received 36,928, AIUDF – 17,504 and CPI (M), which is the left, received as much as 29,082.
So, together the three parties received far more than what BJP’s Dass had received in the last elections.
Hence, the BJP will be fielding a weaker candidate from Sarbhog who might lose to the Congress and the allies. Similar calculations might not allow around 20 sitting BJP MLAs to contest from the same constituencies. And if the sources are to be believed, even RSS will have a say in the final list which might finally benefit Sarbananda Sonowal and all his aides.
