New Delhi [India], March 18 : Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday trained guns at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing the ruling party in the centre of orchestrating a systematic campaign of "coercion and bribery" to destabilise the opposition.
Speaking to ANI, Chaturvedi said, "What is happening is a matter of concern: the constant flow of people leaving the Congress party. We have even seen cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha. The way the ruling party is using all sorts of coercion and bribery to destabilise them (opposition) from their positions is shameful. BJP is demonstrating its talent deficit, so much so that it has to recruit people from other parties."
Her remarks came after the Assam Congress leader Pradyut Bordoloi tendered his resignation to the party president Mallikarjun Kharge, ending his lifelong association with the Congress party amid allegations of internal mistreatment.
"With an overwhelming sense of sadness today, I hereby tender my resignation from all posts, privileges and the primary membership of the Indian National Congress," his resignation letter read.
Pradyut Bordoloi, while speaking to the reporters, said on Tuesday, "I have abandoned one of the most important principles of my life, and I am not happy with it. However, I made this decision because I was being insulted on many issues by anyone who approached me from within the Congress Party, especially in the Assam Congress. Even the Congress leadership was not showing sympathy towards me. I have become very lonely because I have been associated with the Congress all my life. But of late, I have been having a lot of difficulty surviving, so I have to make this decision. Yes, I have submitted this resignation letter to the AICC President."
Meanwhile, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi also met with Bordoloi.
"The Chief Minister of Assam is trying to politically tarnish the image of our senior MP, Pradyut Bordoloi, through the media. General Secretary Jitendra Singh and I have just met with Pradyut Bordoloi and had a detailed discussion about the upcoming elections," Gogoi said.
Gaurav Gogoi further said, "I have come after talking to him, and I condemn the kind of things that are coming out in the media."
On the other hand, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while speaking to the reporters, said, "I am not in touch with Pradyut Bordoloi. If he had spoken to the Union Home Minister, I would know, but I don't think he has spoken to any BJP leader yet. There is a possibility that we can have contact with Pradyut Bordoloi."
In February, former Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah also quit the Congress and subsequently joined the BJP.
Elections for all 126 Assembly constituencies in Assam will be held in a single phase on April 9, while the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4, the Election Commission of India announced on Sunday.
Assam will witness a fight between the incumbent BJP-led NDA government and Congress for the 126-seat assembly.
In the 2021 Assembly elections, the NDA, comprising the BJP, AGP and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), won 75 seats. The BJP was the largest partner in the alliance with 60 seats. The Congress and AIUDF had formed a grand alliance along with the BPF and communist parties. The alliance fought against the BJP-led NDA and won 16 of 126 seats.
In the 2016 Assembly elections, the BJP put up a strong show and won 60 seats, and the Congress secured 26 seats. The AIDUF won 13 seats. The voter turnout for the 126 state assembly constituencies was high at 83.9 per cent. As many as 199,47, 690 voters exercised their franchise in these elections.
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