GUWAHATI: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, a master strategist widely known for his political acumen, showcased strong leadership yet again in the Assembly elections.
He tries to understand a constituency inside out ahead of elections. He would give his opinion even on trifles if he believed that it would benefit his party.
In fact, he can be called a “24X7 leader” who keeps himself abreast of even small issues in the constituencies that others may consider insignificant.
He is accessible and can mobilise party workers at the drop of a hat.
In February this year, he took out a “Jan Ashirwad Yatra” covering around 100 of the state’s 126 Assembly constituencies.
He had twin objectives: to drum up support for the BJP and assess the BJP’s position at the constituency level.
Based on his assessment, the BJP selected its candidates.
It risked potential dissidence even when 19 of the 60 legislators, including a minister, were denied tickets.
There were indeed signs of dissidence, but he managed to keep it under check. He personally visited the residences of a few individuals who were denied tickets.
Sarma, the BJP’s poster boy in the Northeast, played smart in forging pre-poll alliances and stitching seat-sharing deals.
The BJP had ruled the autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council in alliance with the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) until being ousted from power by the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) in October last year.
The BPF had won 28 of the council’s 40 seats, decimating the BJP-UPPL combine.
Keeping in mind the Assembly elections, Sarma wasted no time in recalibrating the alliance in Bodoland, quickly reaching out to estranged ally BPF.
The BJP tied up with the Hagrama Mohilary-led BPF and inducted one of its MLAs into the ministry.
In the process, Sarma ditched the UPPL. Taking into consideration the winnability factor, he bargained hard even during finalising seat-sharing deals with the BPF and another ally, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).
The AGP contested from 26 seats, 13 of them in Muslim areas. The BJP managed to stave off pressure from the AGP to avoid giving away too many Hindu-majority seats to the regional party.
Former Congress stalwarts, Bhupen Kumar Borah and Pradyut Bordoloi, had joined the BJP ahead of the polls. Sarma had predicted such a switch. The BJP had aggressively utilised Sarma in the West Bengal election campaign, noting his charisma.
“The best thing about him is that he can assess situations very well. This is why others in the party do not usually dispute his decisions. Secondly, he remains connected with party workers, even at the grassroots level. This helps,” said Mrinmoy Kashyap Sinha, a BJP youth leader.
“He demonstrated an exceptional ability to manage both the administrative rationality of the state and the emotional pulse of the electorate,” said Jayanta Krishna Sarmah, who teaches political science at Gauhati University.
