GUWAHATI:The fledgling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) that came into existence on July 10 this year is likely to play an important role in what promises to be a keenly-contested Assembly poll early next year. The LDP is led by Prodyut Bora of Assam, whom the BJP had appointed as the head of its IT cell in 2007.
Within days of being launched, the LDP got a shot in the arm when former Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Jaimini Bhagwati, joined it as its chairman.
“Don’t expect miracles. We’ll grow our organisation brick by brick and build Assam in a systematic manner. Values are as important to us as the goals. There won’t be any shortcuts. It will be a long journey,” Bora told The Sunday Standard.
Bora studied in the Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun; St. Stephen’s College in Delhi; and then at IIM Ahmedabad. The 41-year-old was a backroom strategist for the BJP, and is credited with the party’s stunning rise in Assam. He joined the BJP in 2003 but left in February this year after falling out with the leadership following its move to open the door for former Assam minister and Congress leader Himanta Biswa Sarma. Sarma, who eventually joined the BJP in August, had defeated Bora in the 2011 Assembly polls.
Bora says the BJP had been a political school for him where he learnt how to run a party. “I was out of Assam for almost 25 years for my educational and professional career. Coming from the Centre and joining the state unit of the party gave me an opportunity to understand the political dynamics in Assam,” he says.
Assam witnessed triangular contests among the Congress, BJP and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in the last few elections. As a result, an old party like the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which was born out of the anti-foreigners agitation of early 80s, is literally floundering.
“Voters want a credible party led by people with spotless characters. The corruption of Congress and the credibility-deficit of BJP have been exposed. In such a scenario, a fresh voice such as ours has definite appeal. A large section of people believe that the best interests of Assam are served by a regional, rather than a national, party. As AGP flounders, that space opens up for parties like us,” says Bora.
He adds that “as India and Assam modernise, social liberalism will be on the rise. Young people want a freer society. BJP’s social conservatism and Congress’ status quo-ist position will turn away young people. LDP can potentially appeal to this section”.
The last few years have seen voters in Assam getting polarised on religious and ethnic lines. The parties that benefitted were BJP and AIUDF. Bora says people vote on ethnic, religious and caste lines when they have no better choice.
Asked about the chances of LDP becoming a kingmaker, Bora says, “We are too young and inexperienced to be so presumptuous. We have no loyalty towards BJP, much less Congress. Our loyalty is to the people of Assam. If at any time we are forced to consider a post-poll coalition or support scenario, we shall take a decision keeping the best interests of the people in mind.”
Bora also sought to downplay the notion that the LDP is a party of the elites and middle-class and that it lacks mass leaders. “People will make us mass leaders. Were Arvind Kejriwal, Naveen Patnaik and N T Rama Rao mass leaders before they started their parties? People’s mandate made them mass leaders.”
Bora says LDP will use a combination of time-tested grassroots mobilisation techniques and electronic and social media to reach out to voters. The party’s focus will also be on the panchayat elections in 2017, municipal polls in 2018 and general elections in 2019.
Over the last two-and-a-half months, “LDP expanded to four districts, enrolled thousands of members and attracted some of the most honest and high-profile people to the party”.
Asked why he joined politics when he had other better avenues, he says, “Public service is the highest calling, short of spirituality. The thought that one could bring a change to the lives of a people makes me feel humble. My dream is to see a developed Assam.”