In Meghalaya, we will fight alone: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Amrita Madhukalya speaks to North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) leader Himanta Biswa Sarma on NRC, poll expectations, and TMC blame games

Before the Assam assembly elections, you said that undocumented Bengali Hindus will be allowed to stay, while Muslims will have to leave. Now that the draft list is out, has your view changed?

The matter is now with the select committee and they have said that we will not take any decision without taking the Assamese people into confidence. The committee is working on the Citizenship Amendment Bill, and it will go to Assam to meet political parties, associations, stakeholders, etc. Let the process be over.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the government of driving out Bengalis from the state. Will that dampen the BJP's chances in Tripura?

The TMC is ill-informed. The NRC has been prepared under the instruction of the Supreme Court, and only one list has been published. Not only Bengalis, even the names of Assamese people are not there in some instances. This is a premature move by the TMC and is purely for political gains; it is also a contempt of court. You cannot do politics over the matters of SC and I hope the apex court takes action. The outcome is not yet known, why create a communal tension.

The TMC has no presence in Tripura, and the elections in Tripura is based on different poll planks than in Assam.

There are three elections in the coming months in Tripura, Meghalaya and in Nagaland. What are your expectations?

Of the three states, we are not in power in two and are working hard to form a government there. BJP president Amit Shah is going for a three-day programme there, and discussions are going on with smaller parties for alliance in Tripura and Nagaland; the picture will be clear in a week. But in Meghalaya, we will fight alone.

What was the purpose of your meeting with Election Commission on Thursday along with Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Tripura BJP chief Biplab Dev?

In view of the scientific rigging that the CPI (M) does in Tripura, we placed five demands. The first is that the micro-observer should come from outside the state. We also said that any member affiliated to any trade unit attached to parties should not be given poll duties, and that people selected for poll duties through randomisation should not be changed. Also, in the case of the postal ballots, which is usually done in front of a superior officer, we want our agent and those of other parties to be allowed in the station. We also want maximum centres to be live cast. The EC assured us that they will examine.