Guwahati, Dec 30: Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) president, Atul Bora on Thursday gave enough indications that the regional party would contest the upcoming municipal elections together with BJP, its ally in the Assam government.
The municipal elections in the state are likely to be held in February 2022.
“Mitrota (alliance) with BJP will be there, be it in the upcoming municipal elections or in any autonomous council polls. Both the parties have discussed the matter. The honourable chief minister has clearly expressed his interest in this regard,” Bora, who is a senior minister in the state Cabinet, said during an interaction with mediapersons at the party headquarters here on Thursday.
Assam Cabinet minister and AGP working president, Keshab Mahanta, along with executive members of the party, were also present during the media interaction ahead of the New Year.
The central executive of AGP had met last month to brainstorm on the strategy and plan for the municipal polls. However, a clear picture, as to whether the regional party would tie up with the national party or choose to go solo, did not emerge thereafter.
It may be recalled that both AGP and BJP, despite being in alliance at the state level, contested the panchayat polls in 2018 alone. The regional party however could not get the desired outcome in the polls.
Indicating that the situation has now changed from what it was in 2018, Bora further said that the regional party’s objective in the coming months would be to bring another 25 lakh members into the party’s fold and further strengthen the party from the grassroots to the top level.
“Our aim will be to bring 25 lakh new members to the party. We firmly believe that the people of Assam have been able to understand the way the party thinks and wants to move ahead. They will certainly be with us,” he said.
Regarding the emergence of other regional parties such as Assam Jatiya Parishad, Raijor Dal or the Anchalik Gana Morcha, the AGP president said, “Before the Assembly elections this year, many regional parties were formed….However, at this juncture, I do not wish or feel the need to go into the details of how and why these regional parties came into being before the polls.”
“But I have always maintained that AGP has been the prime and the only regional party of Assam…they way people supported us in the Assembly elections bears testimony to my stand,” he said.