GUWAHATI, March 3 - The State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised victory celebrations across the State in view of the party�s performance in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland elections, but the Congress downplayed it, insisting that the ground situation in Assam is �different�.
Participating in a celebration at the State BJP headquarters here, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the person behind the electoral success of the party in the three NE states was Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
�People have shown faith in the Prime Minister�s love for the region and his keen interest in the region�s speedy development,� Sonowal was quoted as telling BJP workers during the celebration.
State BJP president Ranjeet Dass congratulated the BJP workers in the three states and said that the results are an outcome of the bold steps taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the region�s overall development and party president Amit Shah�s organisational skills.
�Himanta Biswa Sarma also did his job sincerely to liberate the people of Tripura from the misrule of the Left,� Dass said.
The BJP workers organised celebrations across the State, bursting crackers and smearing Holi colours on each other and distributing sweets.
Meanwhile, State Congress leader Debabrata Saikia downplayed the party�s losses in the three states and alleged that �money power� played a major role in Tripura.
�Moreover, in hill states, people tend to go with the party at the Centre. We have been seeing this. But in Assam, the ground reality is different. We do not expect such a result here�people here have more wisdom,� the Opposition leader said.
Assam secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist) Deben Bhattacharya said anti-incumbency after 25 years of rule was a factor for the party�s loss in Tripura.
�Also, the BJP used its full power, bought votes and lured the electorate with all sorts of promises. However, the percentage of votes the CPM lost was only five per cent and it is still the party with the highest share of votes. The Congress got only two per cent of the votes and all its votes went to the BJP,� the CPM leader said.
Bhattacharya said the �compromise� the BJP made with the IPFT also helped the saffron party.
�But we accept the people�s verdict. The local leaders will evaluate the reasons for the loss,� he added.
