Cong charging Rs 3-4 cr for assembly poll candidature in ‘Miya-Muslim’ majority seats: Himanta

Guwahati, Jan 2 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday alleged that the Congress is charging Rs three-four crore from party members seeking candidature from constituencies with ‘Miya-Muslim’ (Bengali-speaking Muslims) majority for the Assembly election.

He took a swipe at Congress’s practice of taking an application fee from aspiring candidates, claiming that the opposition party’s ‘system’ is based on money.

“For the seats with ‘Miya-Muslim’ majority, the Congress will take Rs three to four crore from its candidates. It took a similar amount of money in the last elections also,” Sarma alleged, while talking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Sonitpur district.

‘Miya’ is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, and the non-Bengali-speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting this term as a gesture of defiance.

Around 25 seats in the 126-member Assam Assembly can be considered ‘Miya-Muslim’ majority ones after the delimitation process, which was carried out in 2023.

“Some of the candidates have paid an advance also,” the chief minister claimed.

No response came on the accusation from the opposition party till the filing of this report.

Sarma also criticised the Congress for taking an application fee of Rs 50,000 from every applicant.

“The party did not even refund the application fees to its members in seats where the opposition allies contested last time. Their system is based on money. But in the BJP, we take no money or fees from our members for applying for a party ticket,” Sarma said.

The Congress on Friday started its application process for the Assembly elections, likely to be held in March-April this year.

Applicants will have to deposit an amount of Rs 50,000 through a bank draft. The filled-up forms will be received at the state party headquarter from January five to 20, Congress sources said. PTI SSG NN