Symbol jibes and attire barbs fly as Assam gears up for Panchayat polls

Assam's political scene has turned dramatic ahead of next month's panchayat polls, with the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress exchanging theatrical jibes over election symbols and traditional attire.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

At a rally in Dhemaji on Monday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reignited controversy by taking a swipe at the Congress, accusing the party of handing out dhotis as poll inducements and sarcastically suggesting it switch its electoral symbol from the hand to a lungi.

"Back when the Congress was in power, all we saw were lungis and dhotis," Sarma said.

"They should just make the lungi their party symbol. That's the only thing they seem to understand."

The remarks were widely interpreted as a thinly veiled reference to the Bengali-speaking Muslim community in Assam, where the lungi is commonly worn.