While it is amply clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest the Bodo Territorial Council (BTC) elections alone with the saffron party having ditched its ally of 5 years – the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) - now all the permutations and combinations are about the 2021 Assam elections. Will BJP also break up with Asom Gana Parishad (AGP)?
With just a few months to go for the 2021 Assam assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is strengthening its arms with more members and the process is a direct hint that the party might be planning to go it all alone in the upcoming assembly elections.
Biswajit Daimary, the founding member of the BPF, has resigned as the working president of the BPF saying he will join the BJP. Daimary said that he will be resigning from the primary membership of the BPF and added that he will be campaigning for the BJP in the coming BTC polls. This move is a big jolt to Hagrama Mohilary’s BPF but Mohilary claims the departure of the former working president Biswajit Daimary would not affect the BPF in the forthcoming Council elections. Well, whatever be the result, the saffron party wants to make the point to its allies that it is not dependent.
A senior leader of the BJP, talking to G Plus under the condition of anonymity said, “BJP will go it alone in the BTC polls and during 2021 polls too, an alliance with BPF doesn’t seems likely.” On enquiring about the status of the alliance with AGP for 2021 Assam assembly elections, the leader said that with AGP there are no issues yet but in politics nothing is predictable.
Another source in the BJP said that AGP has some fixed votes in every constituency, and if the alliance is broken those votes might go against the BJP. Therefore, the BJP will not break the alliance with AGP. But if Assam Jatiya Party (AJP) takes away AGP’s votes there is a chance of an alliance between AJP and BJP and not AGP and BJP.
The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) leader, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, talking to G Plus said that alliance between AJP and BJP is not possible. “There are ideological issues,” said Gogoi.
But with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) led by perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal having agreed to join hands with Congress with a target to beat BJP in next year's elections, BJP has changed its strategy for the 2021 Assam assembly elections.
G Plus had already reported that around 15 to 20 sitting BJP MLAs (members of legislative assembly) will not get tickets from the same constituencies from where they won the last elections.
Sources in BJP expressed that there are chances that the BJP state president Ranjit Kumar Dass might not contest from Sorbhog and instead might contest from Patacharkuchi.
Enquiring why Das would take such a decision, the BJP source said that in the last elections Ranjit Kumar Dass had received 56,454 votes which is 33.33% of the total voters in Sorbhog. Congress had received 36,928, AIUDF 17504 and CPI (M) had received 29082.
So together, the three parties received far more than what BJP’s Dass had received in the last elections.
Similarly, all the constituencies are being thoroughly analysed and accordingly tickets will be allotted to the candidates.
In constituencies where a clean victory might be doubtful, AGP might be allotted tickets, the BJP source said. So if AGP is clear about such strategy, it might think of a breakup.
A senior AGP leader, talking to G Plus, said that the party has not yet decided about which constituencies they will be targeting. Regarding the alliance, the leader, under the condition of anonymity, said that while the alliance is on what might happen in the future is not predictable.
Well, it is proved that BJP will end all ties with BPF; the fate of the alliance with AGP remains to be seen during the coming days.