DK Shivakumar alleges graft, deep rifts in Assam BJP ahead of assembly polls
Bengaluru: Alleging rising corruption and growing public distress in Assam, which has been under BJP rule for the past ten years, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday said the promises made during the last election remain unfulfilled, and a major political shift is likely in the state.
Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress president, has been appointed by the All India Congress Committee as a senior observer for the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, where he will oversee strategy and campaign efforts.
He was speaking to the media at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru before leaving for Assam.
Responding to a question on his visit, Shivakumar said, “I am travelling to Assam for election campaigning. I also have to visit Kerala and oversee the by-elections in Karnataka. The administration in Assam has collapsed, and for this reason, people there are seeking a change. There has been no progress for the people over the past ten years.”
He further alleged, “After the cabinet reshuffle in Assam, internal conflicts within the Assam BJP have come to the fore. No one in the party is happy. BJP members are dissatisfied as they feel they are not getting opportunities in the party.”
Sharpening his attack on the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government, Shivakumar said, “All ministers in Assam have looted the state. In the last 10 years, the common man has suffered. What they assured in the last decade on caste issues and matters related to land, nothing has been sorted out. After the announcement of the candidate list, there is a big fight within the BJP. None of them is happy.”
“BJP leaders are thinking that they do not have an opportunity in the party,” he added.
Earlier, Shivakumar asserted that Congress leaders and office-bearers were confident of a strong anti-incumbency wave in Assam, claiming that people in the state were seeking change.
Taking a swipe at the BJP over the reported induction of former Assam PCC president Bhupen Borah, he questioned the ruling party’s strength.
“If the BJP was so strong, why would the party beg Congress leader and former PCC chief Bhupen Borah to join them?” he asked.
He also claimed that not a single party worker followed Borah after he joined the BJP, suggesting that the saffron party was losing ground ahead of the elections.