Northeast to Maharashtra and now, Jharkhand: BJP’s Himanta Sarma

Himanta Biswa Sarma is called upon by the member of the party every time he needs to step up or pull the carpet from under the feet of a government-run by opposition parties.

Amit Shah (Union Home Minister) is well known to hardly trust those who have come from other parties, mainly when it comes to carrying out the assignment organized by him. 

But within a month of leaving the Congress to join the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2015, Himanta Biswa Sarma had obtained the trust of both Narendra Modi (Prime Minister) and Amit Shah (Union Home Minister). 

The CM of Assam, Himanta Sarma, is now the Bharatiya Janata Party’s well-known face, who is required every time the party reconciles apparently impossible numbers or pulls the mat from under the feet of a government-run by opposition parties – from Maharashtra to Northeast and now Jharkhand.

Now, he is the center of the recent political crisis cladding the state government: the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress-Jharkhand Mukti Morcha alliance government in Jharkhand. 

After three Congress MLAs were apprehended in Howrah (West Bengal) with reportedly a big amount of money, Congress MLA Kumar Jaimangal Singh reportedly accused Himanta Sarma of playing an important role in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s supposedly attempts to tumble the state government.

A complaint has been registered. But Himanta Sarma denied the assertion, saying he was in regular touch with several Congress members, whom he called “old friends”.

Himanta said while talking to the media

“This is an untrue FIR and a baseless claim. Because there is enough evidence that he (Jayamangal Singh) met in Delhi last week also. 

I plea the Congress party not to misapply the state police like this. Himanta Sarma’s political prowess has led the BJP leadership to lead his ‘Operation Lotus Mission’ beyond the Northeast. Sarma played a key role when the BJP went on to come to power in Maharashtra by overthrowing the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition government, a mission planned with extreme secrecy. 

Later, the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena reported that Himanta Sarma had caused a split in the party due to which Eknath Shinde took 40 MLAs with him to the Bharatiya Janata Party camp.

Ever since he entered the BJP, saddled with the image of being a disgruntled Congressman and former confidante of former CM Tarun Gogoi, Sarma has won a seemingly impossible electoral victory, inducting prominent leaders in the BJP in the northeastern states, and the region. 

It assists the Bharatiya Janata Party to gain a share of power in six of the seven states. 

Except in Manipur, where the ruling Mizo National Front is part of the National Democratic Alliance at the center but not in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party leads the ruling coalition (Manipur, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam) or is a junior partner in the government (Meghalaya, Nagaland).

Know about Maharashtra operation

Himanta Sarma took over the task of rescuing them after Shiv Sena rebels led by Eknath Shinde were taken from Surat to Guwahati on June 22. 

Sources in the BJP said that Sarma, who was then working to deal with an unprecedented flood situation in his state, had given assurances.

Party leadership regarding keeping Shiv Sena rebels in Guwahati. One of Sarma’s close confidants handled the situation for the chief minister, while he opted to remain in the background of the operation so as not to attract attention. 

A party MP from Assam said, “The move showed the trust and confidence of the BJP leadership in him. He would not have placed such trust in any other leader who had joined the party only six years ago.”