Assam CM slams Congress for pre-poll violence in Samaguri

Guwahati, Nov 10 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday took aim at the Congress party for the pre-poll violence in the Samaguri Assembly constituency, which is heading for by-elections next week.

He claimed that the Opposition party which does photo-op with the Constitution is actually resorting to violence and attacking BJP workers.

Taking to X, Sarma wrote, “I strongly condemn the attack on Hon’ble MLA Shri Jitu Goswami in Samaguri by @INCAssam supporters. This is the same Congress that proudly holds up the Constitution for the cameras, yet resorts to violence under cover of darkness to intimidate our karyakartas.”

The Chief Minister also alleged that Congress has resorted to violence not out of fear of defeat in the elections but because its fundamental vote bank has made the Opposition workers do such extreme things.

“The real question is, why has Congress stooped to such depths in this by-election? It’s not just fear of defeat but the desperation to hold on to their core vote bank that drives them to such extremes. Justice will be served, and we will not allow anyone to sabotage or undermine our democratic process,” he added.

Assam's Samaguri seat saw a spike in pre-election violence late on Saturday night when suspected armed criminals opened fire on a BJP march that included Barhampur MLA Jitu Goswami, injuring at least three people.

Attackers targeted BJP politicians taking part in the march, including MLA Goswami, in the Moriputhi neighborhood of Samaguri.

According to witnesses, the attackers first pelted stones at the participants before striking them with sticks. Three people were hurt when unidentified persons opened fire on the group. The attack also caused some damage to Goswami's car.

The injured persons were sent to a hospital in Nagaon.

Recently, there have been sporadic incidents of violence occurring in the Samaguri constituency between the Congress and BJP supporters.

The contest in Samaguri between BJP and Congress has become very interesting. A total of five Assembly seats have by-elections on November 13 and except in Samaguri, where Congress heavyweight Rakibul Hussain has been winning since 2001, the rest of the four seats are with the BJP-led alliance.

The senior Congress leader ousted the three-time AIUDF MP and party chief Badruddin Ajmal in the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat with a margin of more than 10 lakh votes in this year’s Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress leadership kept trust in Rakibul Hussain and gave a ticket to his son Tanzil Hussain, in Samaguri.

According to pollsters, due to the dominance of Muslim voters in the Samaguri seat, Congress has an edge over BJP in this seat.

BJP has fielded Diplu Ranjan Sarma in Samaguri to take on Tanzil Hussain.