National Democratic Alliance (NDA) presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu arrives in Guwahati to seek support from MLAs of Mitro Joth Sarkar, 300 km from the capital on July 6, as Rukmini farmer Borkotoki waits for their call.
In 2006, Borkotoki, a young grassroots Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker from the tea garden community, met Murmu, the then Odisha MLA, in Biswanath.
“She had come to campaign for BJP candidate Diganta Ghatovar. District BJP officials introduced me to Murmu madam. She was the MLA from Mayuganj in Rairangpur district of Odisha. I stayed with him for seven days. We traveled in the same car without any security. When we moved into the interiors of Biswanath along the Arunachal border, there was unrest in Assam. On our way to Majuli and Pratapgarh, we stopped at a roadside tea stall for breakfast in the morning and evening. He is very simple and very organized. We stayed in the same room. She wakes up early, though she used to wake me up after finishing my morning workout. She was like my elder sister giving me advice on life and way of living. I introduced him to BJP MP Pallab Lochan Das, a young student leader. He invited me and madam to dinner, ” recalled Borkotoki.
“Once I took her to a restaurant because she was our guest. He asked me if I wanted to make him sick by feeding him so much oily food. After that, we never ate in restaurants,” she said.
Murmu did not forget her young friend from Assam until much later, when she became the governor of Jharkhand.
“She misses me and calls me sometimes. When she was the governor, she asked me to come to Jharkhand. He also asked me for our pictures from 2006. A few days ago, someone from Odisha called me and told me that madam would be in Assam. He said he would inform me. If I get a call, I will go to Guwahati to meet him. Once she becomes president, it will be difficult to see her,” Borkotoki said.
Program
Murmu will reach the popular Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport in Guwahati at 8.30 pm on Tuesday. Water Resources, Information and Public Relations Minister Piyush Hazarika will receive the NDA candidate at the airport.
Murmu will mobilize support over the next two days for the July 18 presidential elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
She will go to Itanagar on Wednesday morning. From there she will leave for Shillong in Meghalaya.
On July 7, she will campaign in Guwahati and hold discussions with legislators of political parties supporting the BJP government. She is the pride of the women of the country. She represents us and our strengths and abilities,” Borkotoki said.
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