BJP seals deal with Bodo outfit

Saffron party also close to a pact with AGP, in jolt for Congress

A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Assam, the BJP has succeeded in formalising its electoral alliance with the Bodoland People’s Front. The BPF rules the Bodoland Territorial Council and has 12 MLAs in the Assam Assembly.

In what has also been seen as a major setback for the ruling Congress, the BPF, which has sorted out its differences and is ready for a merger with the Bodoland Progressive People’s Front (BPPF), will not only have its electoral impact in Western Assam but in all tribal pockets of the state.

The BJP is also holding discussions with the Asom Gana Parishad for an alliance that is almost in its final stages, sources in the AGP have claimed.

Pointing out that the Congress could return to power in 2006 for a second term only because of its alliance with the Bodoland People’s Front, political observers say that a BJP-BPF alliance may go a long way in deciding the outcome of the 2016 Assembly elections in the state.

The decision on forming an electoral alliance was taken in the presence of BJP president Amit Shah in New Delhi, sources said, adding that top BPF leaders, including BTAD chairman Hagrama Mohilary, Rajya Sabha MP Biswajeet Daimary, and Chandan Brahma were present at the meeting which was also attended by top BJP leaders, including Assam BJP chief Sarbananda Sonowal, election committee convener Himanta Biswa Sarma and central BJP leaders Ramlal and Ram Madhav.

If insiders are to be believed the BJP and BPF are now negotiating seat-sharing arrangements for 16 Assembly seats. The BPF has 12 MLAs, while it lost the Kokrajhar Lok Sabha seat to Naba Sarania in the 2014 elections.

The alliance will not only consolidate the votebank of the BJP as well as the BPF, but political observers feel it has also opened the window for widening the alliance with various tribal groups and the BJP.

The BPF had recently floated a platform for various tribal groups — United People’s Front — comprising regional tribal groups active outside BTC. The BPF, that played a key role in supporting the Tarun Gogoi government, had in June 2014 parted company after eight years of alliance.