Bijni: Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday said the BJP wants “harmony” and not “clash” among communities living in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD). He said this at an election rally in Chirang district’s Bijni under Kokrajhar parliamentary constituency.

Kokrajhar goes to the polls on April 23, the third and final phase in Assam.

The BTAD witnessed clashes between Bodos and non-Bodos in the past but has been relatively peaceful since 2015.

Sonowal, who wants to see Narendra Modi again as Prime Minister, in his 23-minute speech, urged people to cast their votes in favour of the ruling BJP-BPF-AGP alliance candidate Pramila Rani Brahma who had assured them of protection and development in return. Brahma is also a minister in the Sonowal cabinet.

Taking a dig at Naba (Hira) Kumar Sarania, the sitting MP and Independent candidate from Kokrajhar, Rajya Sabha member Biswajit Daimary, in his address, blamed him for playing “divisive politics to widen the rift between the Bodo and non-Bodo communities in the constituency, crippling its all-round progress”.

Sonowal reached the rally venue at the Bijni District Sports Association’s playground at 1pm, two-and-a-half hours behind schedule in a chartered helicopter.

AGP president and minister Atul Bora, who accompanied Sonowal to the Bijni rally, in his address, said: “People need Modi as the Prime Minister of the country again as they want development.”

Bora also sought votes for another alliance candidate — Kumar Dipak Das — in the Barpeta seat.

Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) chief Hagrama Mohilary — in between his address — instructed the vendors to distribute chocolates, ice-cream, popcorns, packaged water for free among people who came to the rally to “refresh their minds” till Sonowal’s arrival. He promised to pay the vendors after the rally.

AGP leader and minister Phani Bhusan Choudhury and Bijni legislator Kamal Singh Narzary were also present in the rally.

Sonowal addressed two other rallies , one at Basugaon, around 45km from Bijni, in the same constituency, for Brahma and the second at Dudhnoi for Gauhati BJP candidate Queen Oja.

Launching a scathing attack on the Opposition Congress, Sonowal said: “The Congress has ruled the country for more than 60 years, but it has preferred to loot the country through misrule instead of developing it. As a result, it has lost its importance in the minds of the people.”

By appealing to vote for Oja, Sonowal said, “In the last two-and-a-half years, our government has maintained the policy of progress by developing the roads and improve connectivity in all the four constituencies of Goalpara district.”

Two other leaders, Tankeswar Rabha, the chief executive member of the Rabha Hasong

Autonomous Council and Dipak Rabha, the local MLA, appealed to the electorate to vote for the BJP.

Additional reporting by Sofikul Ahmed in Goalpara