Assam: BJP ally AGP to fight rural polls on its own

Guwahati: In what may be a setback for the BJP-led alliance in Assam, the regional Asom Gana Parishad, one of the constituents of ruling alliance, has decided to contest the upcoming panchayat elections on its own.

The party took this decision during the Panchayat Convention of the party, which was attended by a large number of grassroots workers of the party.

AGP president Atul Bora, who is also the agriculture minister of the BJP-led government, said, “We have decided to contest the panchayat elections alone. We believe our position at the grassroots is far better than the BJP. In many areas the BJP has failed to live up to the expectations of the people. So, for us, it is an opportunity to strengthen our roots.”

Mr Bora said, “We have always been saying that the interest of the people of the state has to be supreme. According to the provisions of the Assam accord, the illegal migrants must be detected and deported irrespective of their religion and caste.”

It is significant that BJP wants that Hindu migrants who fled Bangladesh because of religious persecution and came to Assam should be given citizenship. The working president of the AGP, Keshab Mahanta, who is also a minister in the government, said, “It doesn’t matter even if we are with the government. We have been raising our voice on several issues and will continue to do so.”

AGP founder president and former two ­time chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said it is the high time the people of the state embrace regionalism.

Senior AGP leader and former working president of the party Phani Bhushan Choudhury stressed the need of strengthening the party at grassroots on the pattern of the RSS. He asked the party workers to take a lesson from the RSS and consolidate the organisation at the grassroots level.

Several district level leaders who have attended the convention also voiced their displeasure at the alliance and wanted to go alone in the upcoming panchayat elections.