Defection alert: Assam Congress braces for Himanta Sarma's exit, but will BJP accept him?

Himanta Biswa Sarma, the one-time all-powerful education and health minister in Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s cabinet in Assam, is back in the news again. Not too long ago in August, he was in the national news when the Central Bureau of Investigation raided his home and office in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam. This time Sarma is back in the news because a prominent BJP member in Assam, Prodyut Bora, who is also a national executive committee member, said on his Facebook page on 11 November that the former state minister is trying hard to get entry into the BJP. Opposing such a move, Bora wrote: “My information is that Himanta Biswa Sarma is trying desperately to get into the BJP. His reasons are two-fold: (a) link his future to BJP’s rising political graph; and (b) get some protection from his alleged involvement in the Saradha Chit Fund case. [caption id=“attachment_1801847” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Assam Congress leader Himanta Biswa Sarma.[/caption] I appeal to the national leadership of the BJP not to let down the people of Assam by inducting the most corrupt politician of the state. I also appeal to all Karyakartas of BJP Assam to oppose Himanta’s entry into the Party tooth-and-nail…..” This update on Facebook caught everyone unaware and both Congress and BJP immediately swung into action to get into the root of the matter. Sarma was quick to take to Twitter the same day to retaliate against Bora. He tweeted: “I have advised @prodyut4assam to read Bhagavad Gita (chapter 13.4 to 13.8 ) . May God bless him. Should not waste his time on me”. Carrying this battle forward, Bora responded to Sarma. “Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma, in his Twitter posts, has advised me to read the Gita. Good thought: rarely does one give constructive suggestion to one’s opponent! I spent the better part of the day going through the Gita. But strangely, I could not find any parallel between what is contained in the Gita and Shri Sarma’s life! Do you see any impact of the Gita on the life of Himanta Biswa Sarma, or am I being myopic? Or do you think he referred me the wrong book?…” he wrote on Facebook. Technically there is time for the 2016 state polls but the political environment is already heating up. Both parties are already replaying an old script – BJP is trying to demolish another Congress bastion while the Congress is attempting to save it. Congress has its own house in shambles and Sarma is one of the main reasons. Sarma was Man Friday for Tarun Gogoi until he fell out with the chief minister in July 2012. Political grapevine is that the rift widened once Gaurav joined Congress in May 2012. His election as a MP on a Congress ticket only quickened Sarma’s exit from Tarun Gogoi’s cabinet. “I have no confidence in Tarun Gogoi’s leadership. We are fighting for our party and under Gogoi’s leadership Congress will come down to single digit in 2016,” Sarma had told reporters after his resignation in July this year. Significantly, Congress is not coming out clearly on Sarma’s status. “There is confusion and we are not sure. Himanta Sarma has himself denied what Prodyut Bora claimed. But Bora also said that he does not say anything without proof. As of now, we tend to believe Sarma’s version because he is still a Congressman,” Assam Congress spokesperson Kishor Bhattacharyya told Firstpost from Guwahati. But the Congress spokesperson accepted that if Sarma actually leaves Congress, it will be a loss for the party. “One man’s exit cannot end a party. Sarma has always been a dynamic and efficient leader but differences have cropped up now. His alacrity and effectiveness have remained a bonus. If he goes away Congress will be harmed that way but some suppressed talent might come to the fore then,” Bhattacharyya said. The fear within the Congress camp is not unreal as Sarma commands immense popularity among the young brigade of Congress MLAs. The leader is equally popular in the Congress student arm NSUI. Coupled with the Modi wave and Sarma’s possible exit, Congress is clearly in turmoil. But the moot question is how ready is BJP to accept Sarma if at all he wants to join it. From Bora’s feelers on Facebook, it is evident that something is definitely cooking but not everyone is averse to Sarma like him. “The central leadership will decide if anything of that sort is to happen. If the central leadership is fine with his entry we are ready to welcome him. If our top leadership seeks our opinion we will take a collective decision,” said BJP Lok Sabha MP from Assam’s Nowgong constituency, Rajen Gohain. The MP in fact told a local channel that Sarma’s entry would be “gain for the BJP and loss for the Congress”. Sarma’s posture has divided Assam Congress right into two halves and even with his “supposed attempts to enter the BJP”, differences have cropped up within the state BJP. Only time will tell if Sarma would be with the Congres or BJP or nowhere.