Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today said that the more Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee travelled to Assam and Tripura, the more it will help the BJP. Mr Sarma said he will accord Miss Banerjee a red carpet welcome whenever she wishes to visit his state.

According to him, his government will also implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the state as per the policy adopted by the BJP. “She will be welcomed in Assam. Didi does not have any work in Assam, she will offer prayers at the temple of the goddess and return to Bengal.

The more Didi will travel to Assam, Tripura, the more the BJP will benefit. Mamata Banerjee will divide the votes of the Congress in Assam, which will help the BJP,” said Mr Sarma, who visited the house of former Assam MLA Aloke Kumar Ghosh, who died recently, in Siliguri today.

“I will welcome her on a red carpet, you come and help us,” he added. Mr Sarma was accompanied by state BJP president Ranjit Kumar Das. He met the
former MLA’s family members and talked to them for around 45 minutes and offered his condolences.

Having trounced the saffron brigade in West Bengal, the Trinamul Congress has made its foray into Tripura as the Northeastern state is turning into a political battleground as the party is expanding its base outside the state in its bid to overthrow the BJP government.

Drawing parallels between the Assam and Bengal Assembly elections, Mr Sarma said that despite the tough election contest in Assam, no violence occurred there. “Not a single stone was thrown at anybody’s house. Here, the High Court has passed an order for CBI to investigate (allegations of post-poll violence). You can see the different situation in both the states,” he said.

Asked about the imposition of the contentious CAA, Mr Sarma briefly said that the commitment of the BJP will be fulfilled. The passage of the CAA had triggered widespread public protests in the state, along with different
parts of the country. Student organisations, mass organizations and opposition parties have vehemently opposed the move.

Mr Sarma further said that the more the new entrant in the Trinamul Congress,
Sushmita Dev continued her activities with the party, the more would be the erosion of the vote of the AIDUF (All India United Democratic Front) and the Congress, which, he said would ultimately go in favour of the BJP.

Ms Dev, who was the chief of the women’s wing of the Congress, joined the Trinamul Congress recently and is likely to be the party’s face in Assam. The ruling party in Bengal is eyeing the Northeast in the run-up to the next general elections.

BJP MLAs of Siliguri and Dabgram-Fulbari Shankar Ghosh and Sikha Chatterjee greeted Mr Sarma in Siliguri with flower bouquets. Mr Sarma also shook hands with people in the neighbourhood at Ghosh’s house, and
waived hands to people standing in buildings in the by lanes before leaving