New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is sticking to its Madhya Pradesh formula in selecting the Chief Ministerial candidate in the Assam Assembly election. Amid an ongoing talk over the issue of CM candidate for BJP in forthcoming Assam election, party's national secretary and two time MP Ramen Deka told ETV Bharat in an exclusive interview on Friday that the party will take a call for the post of Chief Minister at an appropriate time.
"The ruling party does not declare their Chief Ministerial candidate. Like we did not announce in Madhya Pradesh...After the election only our party will take the call," said Deka who was MP from Assam's Mongoldoi constituency. The BJP took almost a week in selecting its Chief Ministerial candidate post the fall of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh in March last year.
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Even though Shivraj Singh Chauhan was the front runner for the top job, it took several days for the BJP to announce his name. In the case of Assam, the incumbent Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal could be the front runner for the CM post but he is not the only candidate.
Political circles in the state believe that Health Minister and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor Himanta Biswa Sharma who is in the good books of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah is another front runner for the top job in the state.
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In fact, Himanta during his stint with the Congress had revolted against state leadership for the post of Chief Minister. However, when his appeal was not entertained, Sharma left the party and joined BJP. Ever since he joined BJP, Sharma was working as the crisis manager for the party in the Northeast.
It was Sharma who reportedly played a crucial role in forming the government in Manipur. In the just-concluded Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) election, Sharma took the call to snap its ties with BJP's former state ally Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF).
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Insiders in the party told ETV Bharat that Sharma is also optimistic for the post of Assam Chief Minister. Talking about the prospect of BJP in Assam, Deka said that the party will return to power once again.
"We will get 100+ majority with this alliance, " said Deka. The BJP has come to a pre-poll understanding with Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) in the Assembly election.
He claimed that the alliance will get all 12 seats from the Bodoland area. "The party in power in BTR is UPPL, so I think our alliance will get all the 12 seats," added Deka.
