Guwahati, Feb 2: Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday turned the tide against Assam Congress that had claimed of a “tsunami of votes” in the state’s Assembly elections April-May this year.

Congress’s Assam president Ripun Bora, confident about the party’s position post “Mahagathbandhan” alliance with All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and three left and one regional party, recently said, “The tsunami of votes earned by the Congress and the other members of Mahagathbandhan will sweep BJP off of Assam’s map this election.”

Sarma, known for his witty retorts, said in reply, “There’s no chance of Tsunami in Assam situated in the banks of rivers. Tsunami occurs in seas and that way, Bangladesh is better located. So, his (Ripun Bora) tsunami will come from Bangladesh.”

Sarma’s remark can also be a veiled attack on the Congress’s alliance with AIUDF, a party that the BJP had more than often accused of garnering support from ‘infiltrators’ — in Assam context, those who entered the state from Bangladesh.

The Maulana Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF has a major following among the Bengali-speaking Muslims in western Assam and in Barak Valley of southern Assam, both regions sharing porous borders with the neighbouring country.