Why the Congress in Assam is trying to set the stage for the assembly poll the same way as in Bihar is hard to understand. Congress has been in the saddle for three terms running and the BJP not even once. Yet Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already been on the scene as if the contest will be between Modi and Gogoi. Tarun Gogoi, 79 yr. old Congress Chief Minister of Assam has already made the coming poll look like that. He has referred to Modi as the BJP’s general and said that he is his party’s general. He is oblivious of the fact that the time has come for him to hang up his boots. Gogoi, it is assumed, was inspired by the example of Nitish Kumar in Bihar. He has however no plans to forge a grand alliance as in Bihar. It prefers a “maha understanding” to a “maha jot”. What has not been spelt out is which parties he would like to have an understanding with. The BJP has hardly a footing in Assam with an almost 35% Muslim population. Rahul Gandhi has been reticent about the alliance. The Congress has problems within as Gogoi has not done famously, especially in fighting militancy.
The Assam Gana Parishad (AGP) has made it clear that it will contest the assembly polls. It seems unlikely that so called communal forces are strong enough to lead to an understanding between the Congress and the AGP. The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) is a key player representing Muslim interests but then an alliance with it may take Hindu voters away from the Congress. It is still a muddled political outlook.
