Assam’s ‘people’s party’,beaten by the voter,now battered from within

Among the seniors who have fallen out with Mahanta is Hitendra Nath Goswami,a three-time MLA and former power minister. The old guard should quit and hand over the party to younger people, he says. Another senior leader,Padma Hazarika,has called Mahanta solely responsible for the AGPs shrinking image and base.

The partys slide in the past few years has been evident in elections. It had formed the government alone in 1985,and then with the CPI and the CPM in 1996. Its strength in the assembly fell to 25 out of 126 in 2006,then to just 10 in 2011,and to nine now after the death of a member. And last month,in the Guwahati municipal elections,the party that had won a majority in the last elections,held a decade ago,managed just one seat out of 31.

Mahanta is not willing to shoulder all the responsibility. There have been one or two individuals who,from the very beginning,have not cooperated in running the party,and such opposition remains even today, he says. But even if some people are continuously blaming me for the present state of things,I have never taken any decision on my own since I took over as president his current term began in 2012. Every decision has been taken collectively.

Mahanta was elected president through a secret ballot in April last year. He polled 212 votes while Padma Hazarika got 175,which led to a virtual division within the AGP ranks. Very few senior leaders and Hazarika was not among these turned up to congratulate Mahanta. It was only a couple of years earlier that then president Chandra Mohan Patowari had managed to bring back to the fold all the breakaway factions and members.

Over the years,the AGP has acquired a reputation for top leaders quitting and joining other parties,though the present scale is unmatched. Among the 15 seniors who have quit or given up party posts is former PWD minister and general secretary Atul Bora,who joined the BJP in the presence of Rajnath Singh. Two-time Lok Sabha poll candidate Apurba Bhattacharyya has gone to the Congress. Those who have resigned party posts include Rajya Sabha member and former union minister Birendra Prasad Baishya,Guwahati city unit president Ramendra Narayan Kalita,former Guwahati mayor Queen Ojah,and central committee members such as Kamini Ranjan Baruah and Pitambar Saikia. The present state BJP president,Sarbananda Sonowal,was a senior AGP leader until two years ago.

Intellectuals and leading citizens have expressed serious concern over the decline of a party born out of a popular movement. All of them,Mahanta,Goswami,Patowari,Hazarika and Kalita are responsible for what has happened to the AGP today, says former Cotton College vice-principal Deven Dutta. They are all power-hungry and not only prevent others from joining but are also scared of facing intellectuals and real nationalists. They have forgotten that the AGP was not constituted by a few individuals but was the outcome of the wishes of the people.

Mahanta has welcomed the fact that intellectuals have shown concern for the party,but said suggestions should finally come up in the partys forum. We are open to suggestions from all, Mahanta said.

Last week,a group of leading citizens and intellectuals held a meeting in Guwahati and not only called for a total overhaul of the AGP but also suggested that the name of the party itself be changed to make a new beginning.

It is very important for a state like Assam,neglected by the Centre and the national parties,to have a strong regional party, said the group,led by author Homen Bargohain,a former Asam Sahitya Sabha president. Also,democracy itself is at a risk when the ruling party finds no strong opposition.

Those who asked the present AGP leadership to step down included two more former Sahitya Sabha presidents,Nagen Saikia and Lakshmi Nandan Bora,besides former Gauhati University vice chancellor N K Choudhury,former IIT professor Abu Nasser Saied Ahmed,and film actor Pranjal Saikia.