THE rise of Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma as Chief Minister of Assam under a second consecutive term for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has multiple meanings in the current socio-political situation of North-East. Equally pregnant with meaning is the intended shift of Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal to New Delhi to shoulder some central responsibility either in the Government or in the organisation. It was Mr. Sonowal who led the BJP to power five years ago, and again now in the recent legislative elections. And a close partner of his in this successful journey was Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma. The twosome scripted a strong robust political narrative in Assam -- and the whole of North-East. They are expected to continue doing the same in changed positions. Both of them -- Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal -- belong to a different league of politicians. Known for their integrity, both ensured that the BJP won the recent elections in a complex field -- that even necessitated a tactical alteration in the party’s narrative particularly as regards the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) so that a major chunk of the electorate does not feel a sense of alienation.

 

This shifting of gears was a need-based outcome of demographic politics raging in North-East. It is this tactile re-arrangement of political objectives in the past some years that has helped the Bharatiya Janata Party to expand its ground in North-East. Now also, in the post-electoral scenario, a similar flexibility will have to be the order of the day. It is in this context that the BJP expects Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma to play a greater role not just in Assam but also in other six States in the historically, culturally, socially, economically and strategically critical region. Seen in this light, nobody would ever term Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma’s rise to chief ministership and proposed shifting of Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal only as a political compromise.

 

There are multiple strategic and tactical facets to this change at the helm of affairs in the BJP -- which non-partisan observers of the national scene will never miss. At this present juncture, Assam stands at a critical cross-roads of its socio-political journey. The biggest challenge is, naturally, of infiltration that was so brazenly encouraged by people in power for 3-4 decades. Though a lot of politics was woven around that issue leading to change in Governments, lots of complexities, too, got pushed into the narrative that the rest of the nation failed to grasp in fullness. Infiltration, thus, was not related only to influx of illegal residents belonging to Muslim community. A lot of people of other communities, too, made a bee-line to Assam in particular, gnawing at the seams of socio-cultural fabric of the region. One of the most dangerous points of anti-CAA or anti-NRC propaganda also touched the raw nerves of the non-Muslim population that kept streaming into the State for some time.

 

The BJP made appropriate alterations in its narrative to give out an assurance to all -- their demographic segmentation notwithstanding -- that the purpose of both the provisions was not to deprive the right people of their citizenship, but isolate only the flagrant violators of the code defining nationality and citizenship. In this entire effort, both -- Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal -- played a critical role. The challenge still continues in a similar manner, and the BJP as the party in charge of the Central Government will have to address itself intelligently to the issue so closely to larger national good. The goal is not just to keep winning elections, but it is also to ensure a closer socio-cultural knitting of intermingled interests of the region and the rest of India. Those who think deeply will understand the complexity of the challenge -- the most basic of the facets of which is the larger issue of genuine national integration. In the effort to tackle the challenge effectively, both, Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal, are expected to play a critical and central role.