The Aam Admi Party in Assam has directly accused Assam Congress President Bhupen Bora of trying to poach its Dibrugarh and Sonitpur candidates.
Briefing newspersons in Guwahati today, AAP’s Convenor for Northeast, Rajesh Sharma said, “Bhupen Bora is calling our Dibrugarh and Sonitpur candidates and trying to lure them. He is asking them to join Congress and fight elections under the Congress’s election symbol. Congress is trying to break our candidates but our candidates cannot be bought. Calls were made to our candidates last night too.”
Sharma further accused the Congress of working towards helping the BJP to win in Assam and cheating the parties who are part of the United Opposition Forum and the people of Assam.
“We have been hearing Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma saying that Assam Congress leaders are close to him and they keep hob knobbing with him. The way Congress is behaving it seems there is truth in what CM Sarma is saying and the Congress does not want to defeat the BJP but help BJP win in Assam…Congress is using tactics so that BJP wins. Congress is cheating the people of Assam,” Sharma said.
AAP today withdrew its Guwahati candidate, party president Bhaben Choudhury, and said they did it in the interest of opposition unity. AAP would now be contesting the Dibrugarh and Sonitpur seats only. The party has urged the Congress to withdraw its Dibrugarh and Sonitpur candidates.
Congress has not fielded a candidate in Dibrugarh. It has left the seat to its ally Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP).
