Cong initiates bid to form joint Oppn bloc in Assam
Seven opposition parties in Assam met to unite against the ruling BJP ahead of assembly elections, aiming to address perceived injustices.
GUWAHATI: Seven opposition parties in Assam participated in a meeting on Wednesday, under an initiative by the Congress, to try and forge a joint front against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies in the state ahead of the next year’s assembly elections.
Apart from the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M), CPI (MLL) and Anchalik Gana Morcha attended the meeting. However, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), another prominent opposition party, was not part of the deliberations.
“Today we took part in an important exchange of ideas. We were planning to have such a meeting for a long time...We are together to rid the people of Assam from BJP’s harassment and injustices perpetrated by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in the next elections,” Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi said at the end of the meeting.
He didn’t share details of Wednesday’s discussions or what would be the future agenda of the platform, stating that more interactions would be held in the future and developments “shared as and when they happen”.
“This was the first such meeting of our parties to come to an understanding ahead of the next assembly polls. I am confident that we will fight the election unitedly against the BJP and oust it from power,” said Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi.
President of Assam Jatiya Parishad, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, termed the meeting as a positive development and said that it will convey a strong message to the BJP and its allies and also to the common people.
Reacting to the meeting, chief minister Sarma said that people of the state have seen such attempts by the opposition in the past four and half years and “it’s become like a TV serial”.
“They come together, have tea at a hotel, embrace each other when they leave the place they accuse each other of betrayal. Such things don’t happen with the BJP and its NDA allies,” the CM said.
The Opposition parties, including the Congress, had taken an initiative to come together prior to last year’s Lok Sabha polls, but that attempt failed when they couldn’t decide on fielding common candidates for the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam.
