Panchayat polls: Cong upbeat amid BJP-AGP friction

Guwahati: The knives are out! Both the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress are gearing up for Assam panchayat elections, expected to take place in April-May. While the saffron party is trying to refurbish its organisational set-up by replicating the model of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, the Congress is looking to regain lost ground by strengthening the party at the grassroots level to capitalise on the growing bickering within the BJP-led ruling alliance. 

The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), an ally of the BJP, has resolved to fight the elections alone.

After Tripura, where the BJP decimated the Left Front which had been ruling the state for 25 years, the saffron party has started forming the network of Vistaraks (expansionist) in each panchayat constituency of Assam. These groups will be tasked with the responsibility of working towards the expansion of party and organisation.

BJP president Amit Shah, in a recent visit to Guwahati, stated that the party has set the target of winning 21 Lok Sabha seats in the Northeast, where the total number of seats is 25. “At present, the BJP has eight Lok Sabha seats from eight states. In 2019, we will win 21 seats,” said Mr Shah.

In Assam, the saffron party has started appointing "Pristha Paramukh" for every 60 voters.

In the voter list, each page has 60 voters and the Paramukh in charge will ensure that these voters exercise their franchise.

A senior BJP leader said, “We are building an organisation base in Bodoland and hill districts. Our organisation model will be tested in the panchayat elections. The BJP will fight panchayat polls on its own.”

The Opposition Congress is also sharpening its knives. “We know the importance of panchayat elections. Our focus is to strengthen the party network further during these elections,” said Leader of the Opposition and Congress leader Debabrta Saikia while claiming that the on-going bickering in the ruling alliance is going to help the party.

He said that panchayat elections would be like a semi-final before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. “We are not leaving any stone unturned to ensure that every party worker is motivated and make their presence felt at every booth,” said Mr Saikia. 

A recent meeting of AGP workers resolved to contest the elections independently.

“Most of our district committees have already expressed reservation against the alliance with the BJP. They want us to fight it alone. Honouring the sentiment of grassroots level workers, the party has decided not to enter into any alliance in the panchayat elections,” said AGP leader and former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.The alliance between the BJP and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is gripped by uncertainty these days. Though the ruling BJP favours a tie-up with the AGP, the regional party appears to have opposed the idea.