Goswami: Under pressure?

Guwahati, April 4: A caucus long discarded by the Asom Gana Parishad is again trying to claw its way back into the party with the old slogan of “unity for regionalism” as the password for re-entry.

The central AGP leadership continues to look at Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, Biraj Sarma and Rekha Rani Das Boro as pariahs, but that has not stopped the trio from mounting a fresh campaign for reinduction. Their source of encouragement is the supposed disillusionment in the AGP ranks over the party’s stunted growth.

Sources said the three leaders met at the circuit house in Guwahati two days ago to draw up a strategy to “create the right atmosphere for their return”.

Their favourite argument is that a fragmented regional bloc is not helping anyone except the Congress. What Mahanta or his acolytes are not saying is that a passage to the AGP will be a political lifesaver. After all, his AGP (Pragatisheel) remains a fringe party with just one legislator.

Sarma and Boro, on the other hand, may have realised that opting out of the AGP after being denied party tickets for the last Assembly elections was not the best decision.

One of the three leaders said today — on condition of anonymity — that the AGP must accept them for the party to become a viable alternative to the Congress. The leader claimed that “unification and reconciliation” were the buzzwords within the AGP, too. “I know there are many among the AGP leadership who are against unity, but there are many who are for it. We are optimistic of a reunion soon.... Maybe before the presidential elections of the AGP.”

Sarma burst into laughter on being asked what transpired at the meeting he had with Mahanta and Boro. But Manoj Saikia, an aide of Mahanta, confirmed that the meeting did take place. He said the leaders focused on strengthening regionalism in Assam and would meet again soon to flesh out their strategy.

Sources in the AGP said barring president Brindaban Goswami and his close associates, most were in favour of unification based on the principle of “forgive and forget”.

“The reality is that divided we fall, and the election results were an indication of this,” an AGP legislator said.

He harped on the need to set the house in order for the AGP to expect a “decent result” in the panchayat elections in May.

The AGP’s presidential poll was to be held earlier this year, but the exercise was postponed when panchayat elections were announced.

A senior AGP functionary recently handed a confidential report to the leadership, mentioning that the party could have won 17 more seats in the Assembly polls had there been no splinter group. He identified “division of the regional vote” as the biggest threat to the party.

“Mahanta’s joining hands with Biraj (Sarma) and Rekha Rani (Das Boro) will force Brindabanda to soften his stand. The trio has a following within the AGP even today,” said a party general secretary known to be close to Goswami.