Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday alleged that the Congress is not bothered about electoral victory or defeat, and its only intention is to put hurdles in the state’s development.

Likening the opposition party to a "male cow" that cannot produce milk, he claimed that the Congress will not be able to bring development even if it gets votes.

Addressing his first rally for the state’s by-elections at Dholai, Sarma said, “The Congress has no issue this election. They are not bothered about victory or defeat. They only want to hamper development. They don’t want poor people to get government benefits.” "The Congress should sit at home and take rest. They won’t come to power for another 50 years,” Sarma, who had been busy with assembly polls in Jharkhand as the BJP’s co-in-charge there, added.

Sarma claimed that the grand old party incited violence in the state earlier, which has been effectively controlled by the BJP-led government.

“The Congress was busy creating conflicts between Assamese and Bengali people. Such conflicts are no longer there. There is no difference between Brahmaputra valley and Barak valley now. The same development is happening everywhere,” he added.

The BJP leader urged the people to vote for the party’s candidate Nihar Ranjan Das, claiming that uninterrupted, accelerated development of the constituency can be ensured if the MLA is from the ruling party.

“If an MLA or an MP both are from BJP, with BJP governments at Dispur and Delhi, they will work together. But if the Congress candidate wins, he will later say that he cannot get things done as the BJP is in power in the state and at the Centre,” the CM added.

“The Congress is like a male cow, you can feed it as much as you want, but it cannot give you milk. Similarly, you can vote for the Congress, but it cannot give you development,” Sarma said.

The chief minister asserted that the BJP has been fulfilling its poll promises, including providing one lakh government jobs, and all assurances will be implemented before the next Assembly elections in 2026.

By-elections are scheduled in five Assembly constituencies of the state on November 13.

Besides Dholai, the BJP has fielded candidates in Samaguri and Behali seats, while its allies AGP is contesting from Bongaigaon and UPPL from Sidli.

These by-polls were necessitated by the election of the incumbent MLAs to the Lok Sabha.

Of these five seats, BJP and its allies held four, with Congress holding one.

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