Guwahati: As BJP storms into power in Assam, the party's election convener Himanta Biswa Sharma has many reasons to celebrate. The 47-year-old has once again remained true to his reputation of a man who has the ability to sense the nerve of the electorate.
Sarbananda Sonowal, who strategised the party's victory in Lok Sabha polls, has been projected as the BJP's chief ministerial face in the state but it was Sarma's grassroot connect that the saffron party was heavily relying on.
In a political career spanning over 15 years, Sarma has faced corruption charges and switched loyalties - all this while, retaining his reputation as a maverick politician.
Sarma has served three terms as a MLA in Assam. He was the MLA of Jalukbari constituency until his resignation from Assembly on 15 September 2015 after he realised that he will not become next Assam CM even after Tarun Gogoi relinquished his chair but reportedly preferred his son over Sarma for the CM's post.
Sarma, known as the main man behind the Congress’ successive victories in the last two Assembly elections in the state, said that Gogoi had used him for his political gains. Gogoi, on the other hand, said “he was my blue-eyed boy and I trusted him blindly”. Sarma said his annoyance at Gogoi’s rule was based on principles and not political gain.
Besides his differences with Gogoi, Sarma is also believed to have ruffled feathers within the high-ups in the Congress rank. As per his own admissions, he also had disagreements with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on some matters, eventually leading to his departure from the party.
A Machiavellian at heart, Sarma astutely used the simmering discontent in Assam Congress and took away nine legislators with him into the BJP fold.
Then he prevailed upon the Bodo People's Front (BPF), an erstwhile ally of the Congress, to break the ties and strike a fresh alliance with the BJP. Soon after elections were announced, says a BJP insider, Sarma prevailed upon his party to make another strategic decision: ally with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), giving the national party the cover of a regional partner.
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However, Sarma says it was BJP's national general secretary Ram Madhav who gave him the idea of a rainbow alliance of the AGP, BPF, the Rabha and Tiwa (tribes).
“We wanted the Mising (tribe) also, so we could have a 50 per cent (poll) understanding with them, if not completely. He (Madhav) was the person who said that we need to create a rainbow alliance against Badruddin Ajmal and create a sense of oneness amongst indigenous people. He took that idea to Amit Shah, who greatly supported the plan. So, in a sense, the entire election victory is to the credit of Mr. Amit Shah and Mr. Ram Madhav,” he told Mint.
Sarbananda Sonowal’s politics has mainly revolved around the issue of Assamese identity, in which the Bengalis are more or less left out, but Sarma has managed to get back the trust of the Bengali-speaking population in the state, calling for differential treatment for Hindu Bengalis because they were victims of Partition.
Besides his political acumen, there are other reasons that have kept him in the news as well. His name cropped up in in two of the biggest scandals to have surfaced in Assam in the last five years: the Saradha chit-fund scam, and alleged bribery of officials by Louis Berger.
In December 2011, ULFA claimed that Sarma had been part of its cadre and had been part of extortion bids, an accusation Sarma vehemntly denies.The statement also accused Sarma of collaborating with Sonowal and using ULFA to kill Bora and social worker Sanjoy Ghose.
The immense popularity of Sarma in the state could also be attributed to his image of being a performer. Under his leadership, the health sector in Assam witnessed a transformation and three medical colleges came up in Jorhat, Barpeta and Tezpur. He also initiated work for five more medical colleges in Diphu, Nagaon, Dhubri, North Lakhimpur and Kokrajhar.
During his tenure as Planning & Development Minister Dr Sarma, had introduced many innovative welfare schemes for the people of Assam. It was under his leadership that more than 50,000 teachers were appointed for the first time through Teachers Eligibility Test (TET).
It is an open secret that he had joined the BJP to fulfil his ambition of becoming the next chief minister. However, he has had to contend with the role of a ‘trusted lieutenant’ to Sarbananda Sonowal, who was once Sarma's bitter rival.
Only time will tell whether Sarma remains a great find for the BJP or if his chief ministerial ambitions lead to the BJP meeting Congress’s fate.
