Mahanta

Nagaon/Guwahati, Oct. 17: The knives were out for AGP president Brindaban Goswami a day after the party lost the Moran Assembly seat to the ruling Congress.

Leading the Goswami-bashing were supporters of sidelined AGP founder member Prafulla Mahanta. Atul Bora, the leader of the ?open forum? of Mahanta loyalists, said the campaign for the former party chief?s reinstatement in a responsible position had been revived.

Mahanta, a chief minister for two terms, was recently barred from holding any post in the AGP because of his allegedly controversial personal life.

Bora said the forum had suspended its ?non-cooperation agitation? after being assured by Goswami that he would review the decision on Mahanta after the Moran bypoll. ?We agreed keeping in mind the interests of the party. The time has come for the party leadership to keep its promise.? A meeting of Mahanta loyalists is scheduled to be held in Nagaon on Tuesday to chalk out the forum?s course of action.

The AGP chief had handed a note to the party?s Nagaon committee a couple of weeks before the byelection, explaining in detail why its demand for a review of the decision against Mahanta was not discussed during the executive committee meeting in Moran.

A source said pressure would surely mount on Goswami to reinstate Mahanta because he failed to ensure victory in Moran. Former PCC chief Paban Singh Ghatowar?s wife Jibontara defeated the AGP candidate, Parag Jyoti Baruah, by 8,578 votes.

?The loss gave the Mahanta camp the leverage to intensify the campaign. Now, they can demand that their leader be given some responsibility in party affairs,? the source said.

A senior AGP leader known to be close to the former chief minister echoed him. ?The leadership cannot keep a man with Mahanta?s experience away from party affairs. In any case, Goswami has failed to do much for the party despite his tall promises. Goswami must realise that he has to work with Mahanta if the AGP is to survive,? he said.

Amid the brouhaha, Goswami attributed the bypoll defeat to ?massive rigging?. However, the AGP chief?s aides admitted he was shaky. ?He had taken over the party with promises galore and party workers expected a rejuvenated AGP. But what we have now is a party more divided than ever before. The AGP is the torchbearer of regionalism. If we stand divided, the Congress will benefit,? a senior leader said.