Can the AGP ever make up its mind?

Can the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) ever make up its mind? If this question is being asked today, it is because the flag-bearer of regionalism in Asom manages to give out the impression, again and again, that it is directionless. At a time when some euphoria or hope was generated among the regional forces or backers of regionalism in the State with the talk of unity of regional political parties, came news that the AGP was talking to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the possibility of an alliance to face the Lok Sabha elections. Senior AGP leaders have commented saying there was no harm in talking to the BJP, or for that matter, other like-minded parties. Well, no one is contesting that!The sense that one gets after the AGP-BJP parleys is that Asom’s main opposition party, which is also the pioneer of regionalism in the State, may have concluded that unification among the two AGP factions (the other one being the AGP-Progressive of Prafulla Kumar Mahanta) may not take place after all. AGP leaders are saying the AGP(P) has placed certain ‘demands’, a claim denied by Mahanta and his group. For the consumption of the people and the media, Mahanta has been saying he was in favour of regional unity and that he is ready to be an ordinary party worker in a united AGP. But, Mahanta is certainly kidding. After all, the two-time chief minister and founder president of the AGP has not shed all his ambitions yet. And yes, AGP president Brindabon Goswami may not be ready so far, even for the sake of regional unity, to vacate his chair for Mahanta. Well, I cannot help asking at this point as to what may have happened to AGP’s bonhomie with the flamboyant Amar Singh? Yes, Amar Singh, the Samajwadi Party high-flier who was a key figure in the so-called regional alliance called the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA)? The AGP aside, one of its old allies, the Telegu Desam, too, has been a part of the UNPA. Only the other day, Amar Singh was in Asom, lambasting the Congress, including Congress leaders from the State. Now, Amar Singh is the main points-man, cobbling up a deal between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress and come to the latter’s aid on the Nuke deal. So, Amar Singh and the UNPA must now be out of the AGP’s radar. The void has to be filled. So, it has to be the BJP. Who are we to talk about ideology? That can change with the times man!Now what? The AGP may go to the Lok Sabha polls with a tie-up with the BJP (some seat adjustments or things like that), and, if the regional unity does not take place by then, face some regional party candidates as their rivals, including those from the Congress. The end result in that scenario will be a split in the non-Congress votes, leading to Congress candidates sailing through. This is not some fantastic prediction that I have managed to make. This is a simple possibility. In case the AGP comes to have a tie-up with the BJP this time, as in the past (who bothers about the disastrous result of the earlier AGP-BJP alliance), the party’s slogan could well be this, ‘we are a regional party with a national outlook!’Regional unity, to my mind, is a distant dream in Asom. This is because of the ambitions nurtured by every regional party leader who wants to be king, or king-maker. The lack of a positive election agenda, lack of leadership, shift in ideologies, failure to forge tactical winning combinations, and, above all, failure of some key regional leaders to sacrifice their personal ambitions and goals are the key stumbling blocks to a possible unification of regional parties in the State. This is one of the reasons for the Congress’ dream run in Asom since 2001. Yes, there is no harm in believing that things may change. source sentinel assam