‘CAA will not have any adverse impact on BJP’s poll prospects’

DIBRUGARH: From a student leader to chief minister to a member of the Union Cabinet, Sarbananda Sonowal has donned many hats in a career in public life that has spanned over three decades. He is contesting as the BJP candidate from Dibrugarh seat in Assam. In an interview with Utpal

Parashar, the 61-year-old spoke about his campaign, the impact of CAA, and the BJP’s prospects in the state. Edited excerpts:

How’s the campaign going and what has the response been?

The response is very good. This time, the public is coming out in large numbers to support BJP, and everywhere there is a lot of enthusiasm among voters. The reason is that the public has received many benefits from our party’s governments, both at the Centre and in Assam, in the past 10 years. They now believe that the flow and pace of development will continue only if BJP returns to power in New Delhi under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

You represented Dibrugarh in Lok Sabha in 2004 as an Asom Gana Parishad candidate. How does it feel to return to the same seat after a gap of 20 years?

We were in the Opposition at that time. I have seen a lot has changed in Dibrugarh in the past two decades due to the good work done by the NDA government at the Centre. The people are witness to these changes. Roads, including those inside villages and tea gardens, have improved. Things which the Congress governments of past failed to provide in past 60 years – like electricity connections and drinking water – are now available. People have good houses and free rice is being provided... Health care needs are taken care of with Ayushman cards, which provides insurance cover of ₹5 lakh per year.

You mentioned that a lot of work has been done in the past 10 years. In your interactions with voters, do you get feedback on what else needs to improvement?

How can we accomplish all tasks, which Congress failed to fulfil in 60 years, just in 10 years? We want to reach out to each person in the society through our initiatives. While the benefits of the welfare schemes have reached most, there could be some who are still left out. In the next five years, all such pending tasks, which Congress over

looked, will be undertaken.

The rules for CAA were notified just before the announcement of schedule for the polls. In Assam, there was lot of resentment against the legislation and your opponents are using it to target BJP. Will that affect your poll prospects?

People in Assam have realised that the Congress and others were trying to mislead the public by saying that around two million people from Bangladesh will come to India if CAA is implemented. It’s been a month since the rules have been notified, and only one person from Assam has applied to get citizenship under CAA. That’s why there’s no agitation this time, unlike in 2019, when there was widespread violence, destruction of public property, and five lives were lost. Those who roused public sentiments with falsehoods will now have to answer the families of those who lost their lives in the agitation... The notification of the legislation won’t have any adverse impact on BJP’s poll prospects.

How many seats do you think BJP and its allies will get in Assam and the region in total?

I have been saying since the beginning of the campaign that we will win more than 12 of the 14 seats in Assam. Of the 25 seats in the North-East, I think BJP and its allies will win 23.