While the AGP-BJP seat-sharing plan for the 2021 elections might upset many AGP leaders, the influence of former CM Prafulla Kumar Mahanta seems to be missing
It seems former chief minister of Assam Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who once used to be at the centre stage of Assam politics, has sunk into oblivion. The prominent leader of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has not been seen in public even when all is not well for the party which was founded by him subsequent to the Assam Agitation.
Prafulla Mahanta took oath in 1985 when he was a student leader and emerged fresh out of a movement, the Assam Agitation (1979-1985). A university student then, Mahanta was the president of the All-Assam Students' Union (AASU) in 1979 when it launched the agitation against the illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi immigrants, which the Assamese people feared was altering the demography, economy, and social fabric of the state.
AASU began its fight demanding the detection and deportation of illegal immigrants living in the state.
Even now, when various ethnic and religious issues are doing the rounds as issues raised for the 2021 elections, the AGP’s poster boy is missing in action. Where is he?
AGP leader and Gauhati (West) MLA, Ramendra Narayan Kalita, talking to G Plus said, “Mahanta is the most experienced and prominent leader of AGP but at present, he is facing some health issues and therefore he is taking rest for a few days. He will be with the public as soon as he recovers.”
It is understood that Mahanta is not well and he was even admitted to hospital in September last following blood pressure issues, but he remained unseen even prior to that; in fact ever since the Citizenship Amendment Act protests, Mahanta has not been seen or heard of.
The AGP was in a soup after backing the act in the Parliament but Mahanta was not seen active. Mahanta was opposing the act and backing the protest against the act. Talking about the present scenario the leader is being missed as there are issues related to seat-sharing between AGP and BJP for 2021 elections.
After ending the alliance with the Bodo People’s Front (BPF), questions by political observers abound on whether the BJP will also break up with AGP.
Ramendra Narayan Kalita said, “The BJP leaders have already announced that there is a local and regional alliance with AGP but everything will depend on seat sharing. The seat-sharing discussion is still pending and the decision on the alliance for 2021 will be taken only after the seat-sharing decision is taken.”
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) led by perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal has agreed to join hands with the Indian National Congress with the specific target of defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in next year's assembly elections. It has decided to ally with the Congress and the Left and given this partnership, the BJP is likely to change its strategy for the 2021 Assam assembly elections.
“Around 15 to 20 sitting BJP MLAs (Member of Legislative Assembly) will not get tickets from the same constituencies from where they had won the last elections,” said a highly placed source in the BJP.
The source revealed that the BJP leadership is analysing the vote share received in the last elections constituency-wise and accordingly the votes are being counted. So if AIUDF, Congress, and the Left are forming a partnership, the BJP is counting how much votes together this alliance will get against the BJP.
The source expressed that there are chances that the BJP state president Ranjeet Kumar Dass might not contest from Sorbhog, and instead he might be contesting from Patacharkuchi.
Enquiring why Dass would take such a decision, the BJP source said that in the last elections Ranjeet Kumar Das received 56,454 votes which is 33.33% of the total votes in Sorbhog. Accordingly, Congress received 36,928, AIUDF – 17,504 and CPI (M) which is the Left received 29,082.
So together, the three parties received far more than what BJP’s Dass polled in the last elections.
Similarly, all the constituencies are being thoroughly analysed, and accordingly, tickets will be allotted to the candidates.
“Not even a single weak candidate will be fielded from any constituency,” said the source.
The source revealed that wherever the BJP feels it will lose, the seat will be given to AGP.
Also, there are seats like Gauhati (West) where the sitting MLA is from AGP, but the constituency has many grassroots level BJP workers who are demanding a BJP leader to contest from the seat. It is also possible that the BJP might persuade the sitting MLA Ramenra Narayan Kalita to join BJP and contest from the seat. But the scenario is that it will not be a win-win situation seat-sharing plan by both the parties which will upset many AGP or BJP leaders.
In such a scenario, Mahanta is considered as a troubleshooter for the party and whether he will surface on time remains to be seen.
