GUWAHATI, July 21 - Even as three Opposition MLAs of the Assam Legislative Assembly resorted to cross voting in favour of NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind in the Presidential polls, results of which were declared yesterday, both the Congress and the AIUDF have claimed that their respective flocks in the Assembly are intact. Both the parties hinted that the MLAs who resorted to cross voting are from the other group.
Meanwhile, State BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass told The Assam Tribune that the Opposition legislators who voted for Kovind have done so after being impressed with the performance of the government at Dispur.
�Many Opposition MLAs are impressed with the performance of our government and they have stated so during personal talks with our ministers. Many of the Opposition MLAs are happy with our government�s agenda of �sabka saath, sabka vikas� and they have a soft corner for us,� Dass said. Dass said that in 2011-12, when he was one of the five BJP MLAs in the Assembly during the third term of the Tarun Gogoi-led regime, the then government had granted only a single road to his constituency as part of the Annual Plan.
�But in 2016-17, we gave Rs 7 crore to each MLA for such works, irrespective of party affiliation,� he said.
Asked which three MLAs may have voted for Kovind, Dass said, �We cannot say who they are and whether they are from the Congress or the AIUDF.�
To a question if any Opposition MLA is likely to switch side and join the BJP formally, Dass said, �We do not expect such a thing at this moment and nor is that our aim. Instead, we have identified 50 constituencies across Assam where we are looking to strengthen our own base and I am undertaking personal visits to all those constituencies.� Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora told this newspaper that it is difficult to ascertain the identity of the legislators who resorted to cross voting.
�After all, voting for Presidential polls is secret. But we are conducting an internal inquiry to find out if any of our MLA was involved. As of this moment, we cannot be sure if the MLAs who voted for Kovind were from Congress or from AIUDF,� he said. Asked about the possibility of defections from the Congress Legislature Party, Bora said, �As of today, we are united.�
However, some other Congress leaders blamed the AIUDF and said that BJP and the Badruddin Ajmal-led party have a secret understanding. �One AIUDF MLA was seen in the BJP Legislature Party office in the Assembly complex on the day of voting,� said a Congress leader.
AIUDF leaders, however, dismissed such a possibility and instead blamed the Congress. �Our group of 13 MLAs voted for UPA nominee Meira Kumar. The cross voting happened from the Congress� camp. There are many RSS sympathisers within the Congress. Besides, many loyalists of Himanta Biswa Sarma still remain in the Congress party. Those are the kind of people who voted for Kovind,� said Aminul Islam, general secretary of AIUDF.
He said the Congress has become a spent force all across the country and so its elected representatives everywhere are �leaving the sinking ship�.
�Look at Goa and Manipur where many Congress MLAs have recently switched sides and joined the BJP. Even in Assam, one Congress MLA resigned his seat, joined BJP and got re-elected in a bye-election last year,� Islam said.
There are 126 seats in the Assam Legislative Assembly. Of the total, 88 MLAs belong to the NDA camp, including 61 from BJP, 14 from AGP, 12 from BPF and one Independent.
There are 38 Opposition MLAs in Assam � 25 of Congress and 13 of AIUDF.
However, NDA�s nominee and ultimate winner Kovind secured 91 votes from among the MLAs of Assam in the Presidential election, while UPA�s Meira Kumar got only 35 votes.
