Bengal...

Sarma alleged that the Trinamool Congress-led government in the state is resorting to appeasement politics that was bound to hurt its chances in the elections. “I think people are fed up with the appeasement kind of politics,” he said.

He said the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) will disappear from the political landscape in the state, making way for a direct clash between the BJP and the Trinamool. “Post May 23, Bengal politics will be a straightforward match between the TMC and the BJP. Congress and CPI(M) will disappear further. The process of dismantling will further expedite. By the law of nature...”

Sarma, who leads one of the 20 special teams deployed by Shah with a special focus on West Bengal, also reiterated his party’s stand on the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which has triggered protests in the north-east and invited criticism from the Opposition.

“What our party president is saying [is] that ‘first pass the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which will give citizenship to Hindu, Christian, Buddhist minority of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Then you do NRC [National Register of Citizens] to find out the illegal migrants’,” he said.

The senior Assam minister predicted the BJP will get about 20 seats in the state when the results of the elections are declared on May 23. The party currently holds two parliamentary constituencies in the state. “I’ll be very conservative and I’ll say the number will be 20 plus-minus 10%. That will be my own assessment, but party cadres here have said that it won’t be less than 22,” he said.