GUWAHATI: In poll-bound Assam the AGP and the BJP have aligned to thwart the Congress’ attempt to grab power for the fourth time in a row even as workers and supporters of the two parties erupted in protests in some parts of the State against such a union.
The alliance was finalised at BJP president Amit Shah’s residence in New Delhi. Emerging from the meeting, the leaders of both the parties asserted that the alliance was struck to keep the Congress at bay but they refrained from revealing the seat-sharing arrangement. Earlier, the BJP had entered into an alliance with the Bodoland People’s Front.
“After a threadbare discussion, we decided to forge the alliance. We realised that we cannot defeat the Congress on our own. So, in order to be able to form an alliance government, we aligned with the BJP,” AGP president Atul Bora said.
As reports about the poll deal between the two parties spread, BJP workers in Bongaigaon town burnt down the party office for “leaving” the seat to the AGP’s sitting MLA. Reports suggested that groups of irate workers of both parties were headed to Guwahati to register their protest. The parties are viewed as “natural allies” as they maintain a similar stand on several issues, including illegal immigration. The reason the BJP wanted the AGP on board was to avoid the split in anti-Congress votes.