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| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA Web Desk |Updated: Nov 13, 2022, 07:32 AM IST
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has made a bold claim which can lead to the Congress party taking a major hit in the state. The chief minister claimed that over 1000 Congress delegates will be switching over to the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP).
While lashing out at the Congress party, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the recently conducted presidential elections in the party were fixed, and the only democratic people in the Congress are those who voted for Shashi Tharoor.
The Assam chief minister also said that the results of the Congress presidential elections were “known even before results were announced”, referring to Rahul Gandhi talking about Mallikarjun Kharge as party chief while the counting of votes was still going on.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “In Congress so-called internal elections, the result was known and declared even before counting of votes. The only democratic people in Congress were the 1,000 delegates who showed courage by voting for Shashi Tharoor. I expect them to join BJP soon.”
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor was quick to react to the claims being made by the BJP leader, saying that only those who don’t have courage might be tempted to join the BJP in the state.
Hitting back at Sarma’s statement, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, “Those who show courage will never join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Only the ones who do not have the courage to fight might be tempted to do so."
Tharoor, who was rivalling senior party colleague Mallikarjun Kharge for the post, said only those lacking the courage to fight are tempted to join the BJP. Kharge trounced Tharoor to become the first non-Gandhi Congress president in 24 years. Kharge received 7,897 votes in the presidential contest to Tharoor’s 1,072 in the October 17 polls.
Soon after his poll victory, Kharge said the party has presented an "example of strengthening the country’s democracy by conducting organisational elections" at a time when "democracy is in danger" in the country.
