Jailed peasant rights activist Akhil Gogoi’s group Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and about 70 associate organisations on Friday floated a political party, the fourth to have been birthed ahead of the 2021 Assam polls.
The regional entity, largely sired by the movement against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), has been named Raijor Dal, meaning People’s Party.
“We have formed the party to defeat the fascist Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the 2021 elections besides keeping the communal combine of the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) at bay,” the new party said in a statement.
The minority-based AIUDF is headed by Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, a perfume baron and Lok Sabha member from Assam.
“The constituents of Raijor Dal decided to float the party under the prevailing extraordinary circumstances in the country and the State. The fascist government imposed the CAA completely disregarding the public movement against it, thus triggering the need for our own political party,” the party said.
‘Doors open to all’
KMSS president Bhasco de Saikia said the Raijor Dal was an “inclusive” political party that would keep its doors open to people from all communities. It would endeavour to make Assam a leading State.
Filmmaker Jahnu Baruah, who was present at the party’s launch in Guwahati, described the day as “historic” for Assam.
“There has been a belief among people that Assam will be ruined if all communities cannot unite. Everyone said this is the last battle for protecting the rights of the indigenous people. So, they took a resolve despite differences and came together,” Mr. Baruah said.
The Raijor Dal is the second regional party in Assam formed within a month. In September, the influential All Assam Students’ Union and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad floated the Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP).
Formation of 2 parties
Earlier this year, people from various walks of life formed parties called the Asom Gana Mancha and the Asom Songrami Mancha. The second one merged with the AJP on September 26.
All the new parties have trained their guns on the BJP.
“In a democracy, anyone can float a political party. We welcome the formation of the political parties. It will only benefit the BJP,” the party’s Assam unit chief Ranjit Kumar Dass told journalists.
For the KMSS, the Raijor Dal is the second political venture in five years. It formed the Gana Mukti Sangram, Asom in March 2015 for “changing the capitalist system of India” but it could not be sustained.