GUWAHATI, Jan 22 - An exchange of some seats is likely between the constituents of the ruling NDA in the 2021 Assembly elections, with senior partner BJP expected to lay claim to at least four constituencies currently held by the AGP, and the BJP will propose to hand over some other constituencies to the regional outfit, sources in the saffron party told The Assam Tribune today.
�With the next Assembly polls only 14-15 months away, we have started preliminary discussions within our own party as well as with our allies. While the exact contours of the seat-sharing arrangement will take some time to emerge, our party believes that we should field our own candidates from Barhampur, Patacharkuchi, Tezpur and Lakhimpur,� said a source in the State BJP.
It is noteworthy that these four seats have sitting AGP legislators. While former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta represents the Barhampur constituency, former AGP president Brindaban Goswami is the MLA from Tezpur.
Likewise, senior AGP leaders, Pabindra Deka and Utpal Dutta, represent the Patacharkuchi and Lakhimpur constituencies, respectively.
�There is nothing exceptional if allies exchange seats during election time. In the run-up to the 2016 polls, we also sacrificed Kamalpur and Patacharkuchi seats, which we had won in 2011. We made way for the AGP in those two constituencies for the sake of the alliance and considering the winnability factor,� said the BJP leader.
He admitted that BJP is particularly unhappy with Mahanta, who has taken a vocal stand against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, or the CAA.
�Despite the alliance, Mahanta barely managed to win from Barhampur in 2016. And now his public posturing has caused embarrassment not only to his own party but also to the ruling alliance and the government. Besides, BJP�s base in Barhampur is much stronger than that of the AGP. Similarly, our party is in a better position in Patacharkuchi as well. In Tezpur, there are many wards where Bengali Hindu voters form a major chunk. As far as Lakhimpur is concerned, the sitting AGP MLA faces huge anti-incumbency,� said the leader.
He added, �As such, we believe that the alliance has a better prospect if our party contests from these four seats. However, it will take a few more months for anything concrete to emerge with regard to allotment of constituencies.�
It is interesting to note that Goswami and Deka have also taken a strong public stand against the CAA.