Stop import of leaders, says BJP MP

Joining the chorus of dissent, veteran BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP from Tezpur R.P. Sarma on Thursday said that the BJP may have to face Bihar-like defeat in the Assam elections if the party does not stop importing leaders from other political parties.

Pointing out that excess reliability on imported leaders was one of the reasons for the humiliating defeat of the party in Bihar, Mr Sarma told reporters, “There was no dearth of cadres and leaders in the party. We have a strong army of dedicated cadres who stood by the party. They are more reliable and efficient than imported leaders.”

Mr Sarma referred to how the Assam BJP imported ex-president of AGP Chandra Mohan Patowary into the party and fielded him for the Lok Sabha elections that resulted in a humiliating defeat in the Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency in 2014.

“Mr Patowary was imported to the BJP despite his defeat in the 2011 Assembly polls. He was then the president of the AGP. The party brought him to the BJP and nominated to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 from Barpeta. He lost the elections but the party rewarded him by nominating him a member of the central executive of the party,“ Mr Sarma said, adding that his wife Rita Choudhury was appointed director of National Book Trust.

Asserting that such ignorance of hardcore BJP workers and the growing importance of imported leaders in the party was causing frustration among the party workers, Mr Sarma said, “We have enough leaders and cadres to led the party, we do not need imported leaders in Assam.”

The remark of the BJP MP has come after the induction of at least 11 MLAs from the Congress and the AGP. “We need to check this trend of importing leaders. When our popularity is on the rise and the organisation is robust, everyone wants to come but it should not be at the cost of our dedicated cadres and workers,” said Mr Sarma, who was also a prominent advocate of the Gauahti high court before becoming an MP.