Himanta Biswa Sarma not to contest LS election, says Amit Shah

Guwahati: In an obvious attempt to put all speculations to rest, BJP president Amit Shah on Friday said that senior party leader and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will not be given a ticket to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Despite the state u-nit recommending his name for the Lok Sabha elections, Mr Sarma has been asked to concentrate on developing the state and strengthening the party’s base in the Northeast, Mr Shah said this in a series of tweets in Hindi.

Mr Sarma responded to the tweets, saying that he has accepted the decision “humbly” and the region will not disappoint Mr Shah in making Narendra Modi the Prime Minister again.

“I hope the Assam BJP and the workers of the entire Northeast will ac-cept this decision. I fully believe it will take Assa-m and the Northeast to-wards the path of development,” Mr Shah said.

Mr Shah tweeted, “The central BJP wants Mr Sarma to continue as a minister in Assam and discharge his duties as the chairman of the Nor-th East Democratic Alli-ance (NEDA), the regional platform of the NDA.”

The BJP president said, “Mr Sarma is needed for coordination between the region and the central party, and the government in New Delhi.”

“The Assam election committee and the party workers had sent Mr Sarma’s name unanimously for the Lok Sabha polls. The central BJP has wished that he should strengthen the party in Assam and Northeast while remaining as a minister in Assam, and convener of the NEDA,” Mr Shah said.

Expressing gratefulness for the “faith” bestowed upon him by the BJP national president, Mr Sarma responded in another tweet, “I humbly accept your decision.”

It is significant that Mr Sarma on numerous occasions stated that he would not contest the Assembly elections in the state in 2021, indicating that he was looking for a national role. In fact, in the last Cabinet meeting, Mr Sarma told reporters that it was his last Cabinet meeting.

The Assam BJP had sent only one name for the candidate for the prestigious Tezpur constituency in Assam while preparing the state unit’s panel of names for the elections. The BJP’s central election committee, comprising Mr Modi and Mr Shah, however, rejected his name, which led to speculation in the media. Mr Shah’s tweets have been seen as an attempt to put an end to this.