Assam: Congress leaves Majuli seat for AJP, strikes alliance ahead of by-election

GUWAHATI: The Congress has formally communicated to the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) to announce its candidate for the prestigious Majuli seat represented by Sarbananda Sonowal during his tenure as Assam CM.
The Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal has instantly decided to support the Congress-AJP alliance which is all set to be sealed any moment. Assam PCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah and AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi had a discussion on Sunday night before striking the poll deal.“We have decided to leave the Majuli seat to AJP. Lurinjyoti Gogoi told me that he will convey the final decision today or tomorrow,” Borah said on Monday.
The Majuli seat, where the EC has announced a by-election in March, is lying vacant after former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal was inducted in the Modi cabinet last year.
While the ruling BJP may field an experienced politician from Majuli, the AJP is ready to take on the saffron party with a young face. “We will announce our candidate for Majuli. The Congress gave commitment to us that they will support us. So far as candidate selection is concerned, it will be our call,” Lurinjyoti told TOI on Monday evening.
He said the party will give its ticket to a new face in Majuli. “Our candidate will most probably be from Majuli itself. A local leader who can understand the problems and local issues,” he added.
The Grand Old Party came to an understanding with the AJP, floated at the initiative of the All Assam Students' Union (Aasu) and allied organizations, in the last by-election held in October but the NDA alliance was irresistible. But this time, when an intense poll battle is on the cards in states like Uttar Pradesh, which may set precedents for the 2024 general elections, a new political force has dared to take on the giant in Majuli.
Even though the BJP and its ally United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) won all five seats in the last Assam bypolls, Lurinjyoti said they won’t rest unless BJP is unseated from power. “Nine months after taking charge of the BJP-led government under Himanta Biswa Sarma, the experience of the people of Assam have been horrible. From price rise to threat to democratic ethos to police encounters, the BJP government has failed to deliver its poll promises,” said Lurinjyoti.
Raijor Dal president and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi said defeating the BJP should be the goal of all anti-BJP parties. “The BJP must be defeated. The public sector is being sold out under their regime on one hand, and on the other, the country is being divided in the name of communal jingoism. Development has come to a standstill,” said Gogoi, adding that his party will campaign for the victory of the AJP candidate.