DK Shivakumar Counters Amit Shah, Predicts Congress Landslide in Assam

Responding to Shah's statement that the Bharatiya Janata Party would secure a two-thirds majority, Shivakumar expressed confidence that the numbers would favour the Congress instead.

"Mr Amit Shah is saying they (BJP) will win two-thirds seats, but we will win two-thirds, and they will win one-third," he said.

His remarks come amid intensifying political exchanges between major parties ahead of the Assam Assembly polls, with both sides expressing confidence in securing a decisive mandate.

On March 29, ahead of the Assam Assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a sharp attack on the Congress, accusing it of altering the state's demographics for vote-bank politics, while asserting that a BJP government would identify and deport "every infiltrator" within the next five years.

Addressing a public rally in Nalbari, Shah said, "Driven by the greed for vote banks, the Congress party changed the entire demographics of Assam. Dhubri and its nine surrounding districts are now teeming with infiltrators."

He further alleged that previous Congress governments had allowed illegal infiltration for decades. "The Congress government had kept the doors open for infiltrators inside Assam for years. Our Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has shut the borders... and reclaimed 1.25 lakh acres of land that had been occupied by infiltrators," Shah said.

Shah further claimed that incidents of violence and bomb blasts have ceased under BJP governance, asserting that the state has witnessed stability over the past decade.

Linking governance with cultural identity, Shah asserted, "This land, soil and culture belong to us. No infiltrator has any right over it."He also announced that the BJP government plans to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Assam, stating it would ensure equality and curb practices like multiple marriages.

Shah's remarks came as Assam gears up for a single-phase polling across all 126 Assembly constituencies on April 9. Counting of votes is scheduled for May 4, according to the Election Commission of India.

Assam will witness a fight between the incumbent BJP-led NDA government and Congress for the 126-seat assembly. The BJP government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, will look to secure a third consecutive term, while the Congress aims to defeat the ruling party to return to power.

- ANI