Assam goes to Assembly polls on April 9, with the BJP in power under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, a former Congress leader. Priyanka Gandhi is overseeing the Congress campaign in the state.
To strengthen the party’s prospects, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar was appointed as an observer. The report says the move was linked to expectations that he could support candidates and campaign expenses.
After arriving in Guwahati, Shivakumar is said to have assessed the ground situation and found the state unit in poor shape. Several key Congress leaders had already moved to the BJP, while others were reportedly considering switching sides.
In this backdrop, he allegedly told Priyanka that a Congress victory in Assam would be difficult because the party was “very weak,” and that he did not want to spend money without results. The report adds that Priyanka, who had initially been upbeat about the opportunity, was disappointed by his assessment.
