GUWAHATI: The death of the Indian soldiers in Galwan Valley of Ladakh has made the BJP in Assam to defer all its upcoming political activities, including virtual rallies, aimed at next year’s Assembly elections in the state.
“In solidarity with our armed forces, we have decided to postpone all political activities which include a virtual rally today (June 18). We will forever be indebted to our soldiers and their families. Our country’s safety comes first and we will not allow anyone to compromise it,” Ranjeet Kumar Dass, BJP’s Assam unit president, tweeted.
The party’s national president JP Nadda was scheduled to address six virtual rallies in Assam including one in Guwahati.
“The supreme sacrifice of our brave soldiers while guarding our motherland in Galwan Valley will always be remembered. The nation is indebted to them. I pay homage to the martyrs. The BJP has decided to postpone all its political programmes including virtual rallies for the next two days,” Nadda tweeted.
Assembly elections in Assam are likely to be held in April next year. In the 2016 elections, the BJP had emerged as the single largest party and it formed a coalition government with ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF).
The BJP’s alliance with the BPF, however, strained following differences over elections to the autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) which the BPF ruled until Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi “assumed” to himself the BTC’s administration in April. Governor’s rule was imposed in the four districts of Bodoland Territorial Areas District, which the BTC administers, in April as the Council’s term expired without an election being held due to COVID-19 pandemic.