In what could be considered as a threat to the national political parties and their regional allies, All Assam Students Union (AASU) - the most prominent students’ body of the state - has decided to float a political party within the next two months.
Talking to G Plus, AASU general secretary Lurin Jyoti Gogoi said, “There are other students’ organizations, intellectuals, labour bodies and Assamese people who will together form the party.” Gogoi said that talks are in progress and very soon everyone will be informed. He also said that it will take two more months to float the party.
Talking to media, the president of the students’ organisation, Dipanka Kumar Nath, also said that they are delayed by two months. However, they will reach out to people through mobile phones and the internet. Nath said to the effect that the political party that had earlier originated out of the AASU - the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) - has capitulated at the altar of national politics. People want an alternative to protect regionalism and Assam’s interests.
In December last, during AASU's protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Nath had indicated the possibility of floating a party that would give the voters an alternative to the ruling BJP-AGP and the Opposition Congress Party in Assam.
“The AGP has compromised its ideologies for its own benefit and Assam needs an alternative now,” said AASU general secretary Lurin Gogoi.
As the state assembly elections, due in 2021, are approaching many political permutations are doing rounds.
It is being deliberated that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might be planning to go it all alone in 2021 elections.
The Jansamwad Rally (Public Contact Rally) which was kicked off on June 16 in Assam was planned such that two BJP workers would visit every home in every assembly segment or constituency.
Incidentally, the public contact rally was launched by BJP president Ranjit Dass from Gauhati West constituency, which is the seat of its major ally in the state, the AGP.
The Jansamwad Rally has been designed by the central leadership of the saffron brigade as a template for campaigning in states where elections are due next year. Under this rally, BJP workers will meet around 50 lakh families in the state to apprise them of the good work done by the governments of the party at the Centre as well as in the state.
Starting off an election campaign from the stronghold of a partner has not been done without thought by the state’s BJP leadership. It is a political message that the party is sending out to allies in order to achieve 100+ seats in 2021 and essentially indicates that it can go to any length even if it means ditching its friends.
Even the BJP-BPF relations are not all rosy now. The imposition of Governor’s Rule in BTAD after the term of the council ended and the elections were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic has palpably soured the relationship between the political partners.
The Congress Party too looks suddenly aggressive and is trying to play to the Assamese sentiments. The party recently announced that it would provide all legal help to jailed peasant leader Akhil Gogoi.
At this time, floating of another political party by prominent students’ bodies and intellectuals in the state is being looked at as a major threat to all national political parties as also the AGP which, despite being a regional political party, is alleged to have betrayed the AASU where it had its genesis. Time will tell which party will gain and which will lose but the political landscape of Assam looks to be definitely changing.
