Over the past few years, the BJP has seen the rise of many leaders who are shaping the destiny of their respective regions and thereby, the country. Yogi Adityanath in the North, Devendra Fadnavis in the West, Suvendu Adhikari in the East, Bandi Sanjay Kumar in the South, to name a few.
But there is a man who completely changed the political landscape of the Northeast of India and he is Himanta Biswa Sarma.
I was wondering if anyone would write a biography about the Chief Minister of Assam so that his incredible journey could be recorded for the public, especially for young BJP karyakartas like me to learn from.
My good friend Ajit Datta has read my mind and fulfilled my wish with this wonderful book, about the man who served the death blow to the Congress in the Northeast.
Though Himanta Da started his political journey with the Congress and joined the BJP only in 2015, he has emerged as a tall leader in the party and commands a lot of love and respect from the cadre of BJP and the people of Assam.
Until 2016, the BJP was not in power in any of the Northeastern states. Many said that the Northeast will remain a forbidden area for the BJP given its demography. But today the BJP is in coalition rule in all the 8 Northeastern states.
This insurmountable feat for the BJP was aided by Himanta Da who is known for his political acumen and exceptional organisational skills. My congratulations to the author for bringing out this journey lucidly in 200 odd pages.
Himanta Da’s political career began even when he was a school student. His speeches at public meetings when he was 12 years old made ripples across Assam. He did his undergraduate from the prestigious Cotton College in Assam. At that time, Assam was in turmoil with Bangladeshi immigrants infiltrating into the state. He became a member of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), a movement to deport illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. The AASU steadfastly opposed the ruling Congress regime in Assam.
Himanta Biswa Sarma rose to prominence with the growth of the AASU. In a short span of time, he rose to become a student leader of the AASU. He contested in the elections for the General Secretary of the College Student Union as a representative of the AASU and won by a huge mandate.
The AASU which later became the Asam Gana Parishad (AGP) won the 1985 Assembly elections. Himanta was instrumental in uniting the youth and catapulting the AGP to victory.
The AGP lost the 1991 Assam Assembly elections and the Congress returned to power. At that time, the eyes of Hiteshwar Saikia, the then Chief Minister of Assam, fell on Himanta, who had by then emerged as a vibrant youth leader. He was hell-bent on bringing Himanta into the Congress party and tried different ways to bring him under him and finally succeeded.
Himanta joined the Congress in 1992 under the leadership of Hiteshwar Saikia and continued his political activism. Over the years, he became the trusted aide of Hiteshwar Saikia.
On one hand, members of the AGP wanted to take revenge against Himanta as they felt that he had betrayed the organization. On the other, resentment grew against him within the Congress as it quickly ascended to the higher echelons.
At the age of 27, Himanta contested as the MLA candidate from Guwahati’s Jalukbari constituency. Despite pressure from senior leaders, Hiteshwar Saikia had given Himanta the opportunity. As luck would have it, Hiteshwar Saikia died just a few days before the elections.
Senior Congress leaders who have been waiting for the right time to take Himanta down, did their best to ensure Himanta’s defeat in the election and remove him from the political space.
The tide turned against Himanta who at one point thought of quitting politics and went to Delhi to pursue his legal profession.
In Delhi, he had the opportunity to meet the then demitted Prime Minister Narasimha Rao whose words of advice turned his life around.
What was that piece of advice? How did Himanta implement it in his political career? How he changed the political scenario in the Northeast forms the rest of the book which has been beautifully narrated by Ajit Datta in his book.
Ajit also brings out the hitherto unknown personal side of Himanta Da where he talks about his family and how they’ve been a part of his political journey
Himanta Da is today the head of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) and is serving as the Chief Minister of Assam. He does not hail from a family with a political background and has risen to such heights with his knowledge, energy, and sheer hard work.
There is no doubt that Himanta’s life is a great example to all young people who are interested in politics and aspire to achieve in politics.
Himanta Da’s journey is a journey in progress. He is bound to achieve even greater heights in the years to come. I’m sure my friend Ajit Datta is keeping his pen ready for the next part.
SG Surya is a Spokesperson of BJP Tamil Nadu. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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