Not bothered whoever contests from the BJP: Sushmita Dev

Mahila Congress president and Silchar MP Sushmita Dev, on Tuesday, said she is not at all bothered about who contests from the BJP in Silchar in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Talking to reporters at her residence in Silchar on Tuesday afternoon, Dev said she is okay with whoever gets the ticket from the BJP and it is not going to make much of a difference whom she will be competing against, she said.

“My fight will not be just against the BJP candidate but with the entire BJP party,” she said, adding that it would be the first time she would be contesting in an election when both the state and the Centre are under the control of the BJP.

“Every candidate has some positives and some negatives. If Kabindra Purkayastha contests from the BJP, the fight will be of one kind. If Dilip Paul gets the ticket, the fight will be of some other kind. The fight will always vary from candidate to candidate,” she said.

Interestingly, while the picture in the Congress camp is very much clear with Dev going to be the candidate from the party, the BJP is yet to reveal its card. Speculations are being made from various circles that the BJP will bet either on former minister Kabindra Purkayastha or state BJP spokesperson Rajdeep Roy or Silchar MLA Dilip Kumar Paul in the polls.

A section of political watchers had also speculated that former minister and heavyweight Congress leader Gautam Roy would join the BJP and get the ticket to contest in Silchar. Gossips of Himanta Biswa Sarma going to contest from Silchar seat also made the rounds in the past. However, there was no confirmation from the party’s side.

Party insiders from the BJP remained tight-lipped when asked about the probable candidate and said the decision on the candidate would be taken by the top brass. Hopefully, the name will be revealed soon, one of them said.

No BJP leader was available for a reaction over the matter.