GUWAHATI: Home minister Amit Shah will be addressing a political rally on February 25 at Batadraba in Nagaon district — the birthplace of 15th century Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardeva. It is from here that the saffron party will launch its battle for “protecting Assamese culture and identity”.
Besides seeking blessings at the most revered place in the state, Shah will also launch a state-funded Rs 150-crore project for beautification of the Batadraba Than (holy place) that was built by the saint in 1468. “The home minister had laid the foundation for the cultural complex in December virtually. However, he wants to be here personally to flag off the construction work. He will also address a rally here,” minister of state for health Pijush Hazarika said.
Shah’s visit to Batadraba was recently fixed after All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal last week kick up a storm when he held an election rally there and his supporters shouted slogans referring to the Vaishnavite saint as “Sahab”. There were protests across the state following this and Ajmal pleaded for forgiveness saying that adding the word “sahab” was completely unintentional and a slip of the tongue.
Shah, in his first campaign rally at Nalbari on January 24, had said that the newly formed Congress-AIUDF alliance in Assam would open the gates for illegal immigrants to enter the state and projected BJP as the only party which can save Assam from infiltrators.
For BJP, this election will again be a fight for Assam’s identity and culture — topics that are found in the saint’s teachings. Soon after assuming charge as the chief minister five years back, Sarbananda Sonowal had ordered clearing vast areas of land belonging to Batadraba Than that had been encroached upon by illegal migrants.
The Batadraba seat won by the BJP in 2016 though by a slender margin of 6,000 votes. Congress and AIUDF were the two runners up. Before that, the seat had been with the Congress. In 2011, AIUDF finished second behind Congress by just 131 votes. This time, the Congress and AIUDF fighting together will pose a big challenge for the BJP which looks to retain the holy seat.