The run-up to the assembly poll in Assam has taken a sudden turn. Until recently, it was thought that the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) under Prafulla Mahanta, the party standing for sub-nationalism, would go it alone. In fact, earlier, Congress Chief Minister and party leader Tarun Gogoi had even talked of a maha understanding with the AGP. Union Minister of S tate BJP chief Sarbanananda Sonowal has said that the alliance has been formed ‘to ensure a crushing defeat on the Congress.” The AGP has been with the NDA government at the Centre in the past and it had forged an alliance with the BJP four times since the 2001 assembly elections. True, the Congress and the AGP had been in dour battle all along. It is the sudden success of the BJP in the last parliamentary elections which must have led to this volte face in the AGP’s strategy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi fighting for the BJP in Assam targeting Tarun Gogoi had finally caused a breakthrough. The BJP already has the Bodo People’s Front (BPF) with it as well as the support of the Rabba and Tiwa community leaders. At the other end, the Congress has teamed up with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), a Muslim organisation. The BJP which is a national party can now speak of securty to the greater indigeneous Assamese community. With an important Congress leader of the past, Himanta Biswa Sarma joining the BJP, the Opposition has gathered a greater following.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s response sounds quite feeble. He says that the alliance will only strengthen the hands of the Congress. He scoffed at the BJP’s earlier boast that it will win 84 seats on its own. The reaction is only to be expected. It can now be said that the poll contest has hotted up and a decisive conclusion is on the cards.
