Guwahati: The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Tuesday conceded that it had failed to secure the minority seats it had hoped to win for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, had repeatedly stated that the BJP stood no chance of winning in approximately 22 Muslim-majority constituencies.
AGP's Strategy and Performance
When the AGP announced its list of 26 candidates for the assembly elections, 13 of them were Muslims. These candidates contested from Muslim-majority seats in lower and southern Assam on behalf of the NDA. The AGP was founded during the six-year-long anti-foreigners movement (1979-85) that targeted illegal immigration, during which many Bengali-speaking Muslims were singled out. However, maintaining a relatively secular image among NDA partners, the AGP contested in most of the 22 Muslim-majority seats that have a significant population of Bengali-speaking Muslims of Bangladesh origin.
"We contested in minority-inhabited seats but lost. Congress won these seats, but one day minority people will reject them," said AGP president Atul Bora, responding to the party's poor performance in Muslim-majority constituencies. Some senior leaders from Badruddin Ajmal's All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), including sitting MLAs, joined the AGP just days before the elections and contested the polls, but they suffered humiliating defeats.
Criticism of Congress
Bora alleged that the Congress party had exploited minorities and tea garden workers for years. While Congress was routed in tea belt constituencies this time, Bora predicted that Congress would next be defeated in Muslim-majority seats as well. Congress contested 99 seats in this election but won only 19, all of which were Muslim-majority seats. Of the 19 Congress winners, 18 are Muslim candidates.
The AGP improved its tally from nine to 10 seats in this election, with most of its victories coming from lower Assam. Bora further stated that the public rejection of Congress showed the party had no future. "The party's goals were merely to increase its vote bank, engage in corruption, and support illegal migrants. Today, Congress lacks any public support. Once, the tea garden workers trusted Congress, but seeing the current state of the party, they have distanced themselves. The BJP-led government ushered in development in the tea belt, improving education and healthcare," Bora said. He added that the AGP is a secular party and received a significant number of minority votes this time despite its defeat.
Jibe at Regional Ally
Bora also took a swipe at Congress's regional ally, the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP). Without naming the party, he said the party that believed it could threaten the NDA by aligning with Congress was completely rejected by the people of Assam. "The curtain has fallen on the imaginary government that was in place in Assam under the Congress-led alliance for the past month," Bora remarked.
The first AGP legislative party meeting will be held at the party headquarters in Ambari on Wednesday, where its leader in the assembly will be elected.
