Guwahati: Rebel candidates in the fray is threatening to defeat the very purpose of the BJP-AGP alliance – to prevent division of anti-Congress votes – in Assam.
Peeved at not getting party nomination a section of BJP aspirants has formed a new political outfit called Trinamool BJP while a section of rebel AGP leaders have formed AGP (Regional Forum).
The two new political formations have already fielded several candidates against the official AGP or BJP candidates in different LACs much to the glee of ruling Congress.
Hopes of many poll ticket aspirants from both the AGP and the BJP were dashed when the two parties decided to forge a poll alliance with the purpose of defeating the ruling Congress.
The AGP was allotted only 24 LACs for to contest polls because of the alliance with the BJP, forcing the regional party to leave out even two LACs (Kalaigaon and Bishwanath Chariali) where it has sitting MLAs.
The AGP which ruled Assam for two terms in the past has now been reduced to a party that will contest only in 24 LACs in Assam out of the total 126 LACs while rest will be shared by its two other allies the BJP and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF). The BJP have got the lion’s share of the LACs for fielding its candidates still a sections of its jilted poll aspirants have formed Trinamool BJP that is opposed to alliance with the AGP. Meanwhile, Congress too have faced rebellion within in several LACs after allocation of poll tickets for the first phase election. Two of its siting MLAs, Sarat Saikia and Amiya Gogoi have contested as Independents from Mahmora and Dulianjan LACs respectively after the party did not give them ticket to contest this election.
The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) and sitting MLA, Anjan Dutta was not given nomination to contest from Sivasagar LAC much to the surprise of his followers in the party. However, Dutta’s daughter Ankita Dutta has been given Congress nomination to contest from Amguri LAC which is now represented in the House by her father.
Though Anjan Dutta wanted to contest from Sivasagar LAC, the party high-command decided to re-nominate the sitting Congress MLA, Pranab Gogoi, the Speaker of the Assembly.
