AGP, BJP split in Assam ahead of assembly elections

Guwahati: In a development that might benefit the ruling Congress ahead of the April assembly elections, the BJP and AGP have split over the recent alliance between the two and both the newly-floated parties announced on Wednesday that they will contest the polls.

While the disgruntled faction of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), who opposed the tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party, have decided to form a new party titled AGP Jatiyatabadi Mancha (AGP Regionalist Forum), the section of BJP leaders who had opposed the alliance have formed the Trinamool BJP.

"We cannot have any understanding with the BJP. The BJP is a party who do not respect the Assam Accord. A total of 855 martyrs have sacrificed their lives during the Assam Movement, which resulted in the historical Assam Accord. We cannot accept the AGP having an understanding with the BJP as we have differences," said Sunil Rajkonwar, president of the AGP Regionalist Forum.

"How can AGP leadership have an understanding with a party like BJP that has murdered the Assam Accord by legalizing the Hindu infiltrators from Bangladesh. The Assam movement and Assam Accord was against the illegal Bangladeshi infiltration. be it Hindu or Muslim. So we have decided to float this new forum and we are going to put up candidates in those 24 constituencies where the AGP and BJP are having an understanding," he added.

On the other hand, grassroots workers of BJP from different districts of the state who have floated Trinamool BJP are also planning to put up candidates in the 24 candidates which the party has decided to leave for AGP. 

"We have opposed the move of the party leaders to leave those constituencies to AGP where we have strong mass base. However, the party leadership did not listen to us forcing us to float this new party. We are going to contest our candidates in those 24 constituencies, which the BJP had left for the AGP," said Biswajit Phukan, convener of the Trinamool BJP.

"The alliance with the AGP is not going to benefit the BJP. So we have opposed the alliance. Unfortunately, the party leadership did not believe us and went ahead with the alliance. We are sure that the people of Assam will accept Trinamool BJP as an alternative to the corrupt governance of the Congress," he added.

Assam is going to polls on April 4 and April 11 this year. 

While the ruling Congress is allied with the United People's Party (UPP), a regional outfit with some some base in four districts of the Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts (BTAD), the BJP has tied up with the AGP and the regional Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), which runs the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), the administration of the districts. 

The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), on the other had had announced that they will not contest in 66 out of the total 126 assembly seats in the April polls to help the Congress and defeat the BJP and its allies.