Guwahati, March 4: A day after the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) released its list of candidates, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on March 4 launched a sharp attack on the party, alleging that its selections reflect “dynastic and family politics”.
Addressing a gathering, Sarma claimed that the Congress list was dominated by descendants of prominent political leaders and said the party continued to promote what he termed “hereditary politics”.
“Yesterday, the Assam Pradesh Congress released its list of candidates. If you analyse it, it becomes clear that the candidates have been selected based on dynasty and family politics,” he said. He alleged that the list included the son of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, the son of Bhumidhar Barman, the son of Hiteswar Saikia, as well as the son of a Dhubri MP, asserting that the party had prioritised political legacies.
The Chief Minister contrasted this with the approach of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stating that his party focused on promoting individuals from ordinary and lower middle-class backgrounds.
“In contrast, if you look at the BJP’s Rajya Sabha list, to whom did we give candidature? People like Taresh Gowalla and Jogen Mohan. Their parents are respected but were never in the political limelight. The BJP’s objective is to bring children from ordinary, lower middle-class and poor families into the political arena,” he said.
Sarma further asserted that whether it was the Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha or the upcoming Assembly list, the overwhelming majority of BJP candidates—“around 99 per cent”—came from middle-class and economically weaker sections.
“BJP’s character is to bring children from lower middle-class and poor families into politics. That is why we have ideological differences with Congress,” he added.
