Manmohan Singh and Indramoni Bora

Guwahati, April 29: There may be a sense of inevitability about Manmohan Singh’s passage from Assam to the Rajya Sabha for yet another term, but the race for the other seat that will be vacated in June could be a hard-fought one.

Both the Asom Gana Parishad and the BJP are eyeing the seat that will be vacated by Indramoni Bora. The two parties have begun parleys to find a consensus replacement for Bora, a former president of the BJP’s Assam unit, but neither seems to be willing to back out of the race.

The AGP and the BJP together have 34 legislators, but require at least nine more votes to be certain of winning the race. Going by a 2001 agreement between them, it is the BJP’s turn to put up a candidate this time. The AGP nominated Birendra Prasad Baishya in 2004, but failed to see him through even with the BJP’s support.

“Since we have a rotation agreement with the AGP, it is our turn to stake claim this time. We have deputed our legislature party leader to work it out with the AGP,” state BJP chief Ramen Deka said.

Asked who the BJP’s choice was, Deka said no name had been finalised.

On the other hand, the AGP does not seem to be keen to continue with an agreement that it claims was only for five years.

“The agreement was for the last five years. During that period, we backed the BJP’s candidate once and it backed our candidate once. Considering the new equation in the Assembly, we need to have a fresh strategy,” AGP legislator Phani Bhushan Choudhury said.

Choudhury said the support of the 10 legislators of the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) would be crucial to the Opposition.

The Congress has 53 legislators and the backing of 12 more from its partner in the ruling coalition, the Bodo People’s Progressive Front. The Prime Minister is, therefore, almost guaranteed of another Rajya Sabha term. Singh has been a Rajya Sabha member representing Assam since the time the late Hiteswar Saikia led a Congress government in the state.

The main problem for the BJP is that the AUDF is unlikely to back its candidate for ideological reasons, never mind the fact that both want to see the Congress lose.

“The AUDF will have to back us for the simple reason that it does not want the Congress to get the second seat, too. There should not be any problem if we can put up someone all of us are comfortable with. We will support him/her all the way,” a senior AGP legislator said.

The hitch in the plan is that the AUDF is inclined to nominate somebody of its own choice rather than fall in line with the rest of the Opposition. The party is already scouting for an acceptable face from outside the political arena as its nominee.

An AUDF functionary said the party leadership had even shortlisted a few names. “We want a candidate who is apolitical so that there will be no ideological barrier. Any political party will be willing to back him/her.”