Guwahati: As the Election Commission of India has launched the consultation process on the delimitation of constituencies in Assam, the state’s ruling BJP has stated that the districts adhering to population control norms must not be penalised. Upper Assam districts have adhered to the population control norms and any reduction of constituencies there would disincentive those following the policy.

The opposition Congress skipped the consultation programme on Monday alleging allocation of little time. Over 55 organisations and 10 national- and state-recognised political parties met the Election Commission team in Guwahati. The commission has again invited Congress to join the consultation.

Chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar, and commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel reached Guwahati on Sunday and will be here till Tuesday.Leader of opposition Debabrata Saikia said: “The Assam Congress had earlier met the ECI full bench in Delhi and asked them about the clarifications and the irregularities regarding district political boundaries. They told us they will meet our queries and we then gave them a reminder and ever since we are waiting for the reply. Now they are only giving 10 to 15 minutes and we don’t think meeting them will be any useful.”

Meanwhile, Assam minister and BJP leader Ashok Singhal said the ruling party has requested the commission to keep the Kokrajhar seat reserved for scheduled tribes. Also, in the two seats of Dhemaji, one should be kept for unrepresented tribes and communities, he said.

Assam joint chief electoral officer Lakhinandan Saharia said the commission had taken note of the representations made in January by the Congress and the Bodoland Peoples’ Committee. “The commission, thereafter, decided to hear all stakeholders including political parties, people’s representatives, civil society organisations, etc.,” he said.He said while the Congress had already made a representation, it was again given time to meet the commission in Guwahati on Monday after the party sought another meeting in Delhi.

Floor leaders of about 18 Opposition parties met on Monday evening over dinner and decided to explore how their unity demonstrated inside Parliament can be taken to the masses through joint agitation against the Modi government by highlighting ‘dangers to democracy’. Based on suggestions of many participants, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who hosted the meeting at residence, is expected to convene a meeting of organisational leaders of the parties for further discussions on the matter.Some participants said the meeting stressed on the need to explore maximum possible Opposition unity on the ground against the government by launching a campaign to fight against ‘dangers to democracy.’ Issues such as Hindenburg-Adani and attempt to ‘intimidate’ Opposition leaders too figured as common issues. In the meeting, some leaders were learnt to have said that while it may not be possible to ensure total unity of all parties in every state due to turf-realities, the attempt should be to maintain unity against BJP at the national level.

The meeting also saw some leaders cautioning Rahul Gandhi over his comments on VD Savarkar and advised him to keep in mind nuances and need to maintain maximum Opposition unity. NCP chief Sharad Pawar is learnt to have pointed out at the meeting that large sections in Maharashtra hold Savarkar in high esteem and certain aspects of Savarkar’s life, such as building a temple near his house and allowing Dalits to worship during age of untouchability, were admired by many people in the state. CPI leader Benoy Vishwam is learnt to have said while his party fully agreed with Rahul Gandhi’s comments on Savarkar, Gandhi should have kept in mind the bigger task of ensuring maximum Opposition unity in Maharashtra, including with the Shiv Sena (U). Vishwam said it was unfortunate Shiv Sena (U) disengaged with Opposition over Gandhi’s comments and called for efforts to ensure Thackeray‘s party continued to fight against BJP with the larger Opposition. Pawar also raised the issue of disqualification of Lakshadwwep MP Mohamad Faizal.

Some participants said Gandhi clarified that his comments on Savarkar was on ideology and said he would henceforth try to be flexible while commenting on him. Referring to his court conviction, disqualification from Lok Sabha and notice for vacating the house, Gandhi said he was not treating it as a personal issue but part of larger fight against ‘dangers posed to democracy’ by the regime. Sonia Gandhi is believed to have urged all to work for maximum possible unity against the BJP.

Gandhinagar: The ruling BJP is eyeing a record victory in Gujarat in the 2024 general election, with its state president CR Patil recently urging party workers to ensure its candidates win with a margin of at least 500,000 votes apiece and the opposing candidates lose their deposits.While the BJP has been winning all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat since 2014, the party won a record 156 seats in the 182-seat assembly in 2022 despite being in power for more than two decades, Covid-19 and economic distress.

“The target is not really impossible as a five lakh margin will need a total margin of 1.3 crore,” said a BJP functionary, who did not wish to be identified. “The BJP’s margin over the Congress in the 2022 assembly polls was close to 85 lakh. Adding 45 lakh to it is not impossible.”

The BJP has already hit the ground and is reaching out to voters at the booth level, another party functionary said on condition of anonymity. “Out of 51,000 booths in the state, our tally was negative in 15,000 booths. Now while we are reaching out to everyone, special focus is being given to those 15,000,” he said.While the BJP’s “page committees” have been pressed into service to analyse the causes of the result in detail, the party is also closely monitoring the caste combinations in these booths.

“In the areas where we have not done well, we are preparing a detailed list of the benefits that the communities of those areas have availed from the government over the years,” said the second person, adding that voters are now being reminded of all those benefits to turn the tide further towards the BJP.

“With the page committees now being in place, we can clearly find out who went out to vote and who didn’t and therefore mobilising voters has become much easier,” he said.