GUWAHATI, March 12 - A final decision regarding an alliance between the BJP and its former ally AGP for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections is expected soon.
Sources said BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav will hold talks with AGP president Atul Bora and working president Keshab Mahanta later tonight to discuss the issue of an alliance between the two parties.
As per sources, the BJP wants some written commitment from the regional party on the issue of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. In addition, the BJP is willing to leave the Kaliabor, Dhubri and Barpeta constituencies for the regional party. While Kaliabor is now represented by the Congress, both Dhubri and Barpeta seats are now with the AIUDF.
However, the AGP also wants to contest the Mangaldai seat, a demand which the BJP is unwilling to concede. BJP�s Ramen Deka is currently the Lok Sabha member from Mangaldai.
Yesterday, a meeting of senior leaders of the AGP, which continued till late night, failed to arrive at a consensus on the issue of entering into a tie-up with the BJP.
Sources said while Bora and Mahanta, along with some other senior leaders of the party, want an alliance with the saffron party, former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta is opposed to any tie-up with the BJP.
The State leadership of the BJP, including Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and State party president Ranjeet Kumar Dass, has in recent days also expressed their opposition to renewal of ties with the AGP. But the central leadership of the saffron party is still keen to explore the option of an alliance with the regional party to prevent division of votes.
The BJP and AGP had entered into an alliance in the run-up to the 2016 Assembly polls in the State. The AGP snapped its ties with the BJP in January this year on the issue of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
All the three AGP ministers in the Sarbananda Sonowal government, including Bora and Keshab Mahanta, submitted their resignation. But Sonowal is yet to forward their resignation letters to the Governor.
