Gupta, a long-time organisational figure in the party, was given the ticket after the BJP dropped Asom Gana Parishad’s Ramendra Narayan Kalita. The BJP has taken the seat from its ally AGP.
“The insider-outsider debate is an unnecessary one,” Gupta told ET. “Our family came here in 1925, and I was born and brought up in Assam. I worked in the public sphere for my entire life.”
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A founding member of the BJP in Assam, Gupta has held several positions in the party and had long sought a ticket. Following the 2023 delimitation exercise, Guwahati West ceased to exist, leaving sitting MLA Kalita without a seat.
State BJP president Dilip Saikia said around 26 MLAs had won from ‘Miya’ dominated areas in the last assembly polls.
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“How many of them could speak Assamese languages, this is my question to those questioning Gupta’s speaking skills. Even Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi could not speak Assamese properly,” he said. Gupta is a dedicated senior party worker who is committed to the Assamese people, he said. “Some people are trying to create a narrative of Hindi speaking Vijay Gupta.
