Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, addressing the press, lauded the victory of NDA in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Making a statement about the unexpected numbers, CM Sarma said: “We got 240 seats and our nearest rival (Congress) has got just 98 seats, so this is a unique achievement. We must celebrate the victory.”
Explaining why this has been a historical election, he said: “No Prime Minister has got a mandate for the third consecutive time. NDA has absolute majority, there is no crisis.”
He commented: “I'm sure PM Modi will break the record of Nehru as the longest-serving Prime Minister.”
Speaking about how the poll process unfolded in the northeastern states, referring to Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland, he said: “A religion in particular went against our government (NDA) and that religion has tremendous followers in those states. No one can fight with a religion, it’s political. Usually, they don’t interfere in politics, but this time they did.”
However, given the results in his own state, the Chief Minister said: “I am very amazed that with 40 per cent Muslim votes in Assam, I could give 11 seats to my party.”
He went on to add that no Assam leadership has been targetted by national leadership so far. “So my national profile has gone up during this election,” he remarked.
(Except for the headline, this story, from a syndicated feed, has not been edited by Odishatv.in staff)