NEW DELHI: A day after the election result did not turn out as expected for BJP, its Jharkhand poll co-in-charge Himanta Biswa Sarma said that he had never claimed victory for the party as it was a challenging state. Sarma, who was at the forefront throughout BJP’s poll campaign, nevertheless, praised the efforts of the party cadre despite the outcome.
“Whenever you had asked me here about Jharkhand, I had said that it is a difficult state.I never claimed that we would win. It was a tough job for our party to fight there but we did a good job under the given circumstances,” he said.
Hemant Soren’s JMM-led alliance secured a resounding victory in Jharkhand, clinching a second consecutive term by winning 56 of the 81 seats in the assembly. Despite an intense campaign effort by the BJP-led NDA, they managed to secure only 24 seats.
The Assam chief minister urged the newly elected JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand to fulfill its constitutional responsibility of identifying and deporting infiltrators from the state. “Taking action against infiltration is a constitutional obligation of the government. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to speculate on how much they will accomplish. As the chief minister of Assam, I have no further comments on the matter. I said what I needed to during my tenure as the party’s co-in-charge,” the BJP leader said.
“No government should compromise on the matter of infiltration as the end result will be demographic change, which will impact all,” he added. Further, Sarma reiterated his concerns about infiltration in Jharkhand, urging BJP’s newly elected MLAs to bring up the issue in the assembly.
“I firmly believe that the problem of infiltration will pose significant challenges for Jharkhand in the future. It is your (JMM’s) government, and I appeal to you to either identify or push back these infiltrators. This is your constitutional duty,” he added.
Sarma expressed confidence that the Jharkhand government would take responsibility for addressing the issue.He also called on BJP legislators to fulfill their role as opposition members by actively raising concerns about infiltration in the assembly.
Earlier on Saturday, as the election results confirmed the JMM-Congress alliance’s victory, Sarma expressed deep disappointment over the BJP’s performance in Jharkhand. Despite his dismay, Sarma congratulated the JMM on its resounding win while underscoring the NDA’s commitment to protecting Jharkhand from alleged infiltration and promoting its development.