GUWAHATI: Jailed peasant leader and Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi had a crucial meeting here on Monday with Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) president Lurinjyoti Gogoi on how they would share seats.
Gogoi, booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by NIA, is undergoing treatment at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital for long but sources privy to the meeting said his candidature for the prestigious Sivasagar seat in upper Assam is final. Raijor Dal advisers had wanted him to contest as an alliance candidate from Teok in Jorhat district, which is represented by the AGP in the assembly now.
Lurinjyoti, on the other hand, has said he is ready to contest from Duliajan in Dibrugarh, where indigenous communities and tea tribes play a vital role in polling.
“Raijor Dal wants a prestigious seat for its president and so the party has chosen Sivasagar for him. AJP has not objected to our proposal,” a top leader of Raijor Dal said.
The two parties, which came into existence after the movement against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act rocked the state, will be fielding candidates across Assam. But the indigenous and minority votes in the Brahmaputra Valley would be their focused area.
“Talks were held for all 47 seats where the first phase election is scheduled. In most of these we will jointly field candidates,” said Lurinjyoti after the meeting.
According to party insiders, both will share a proportionate number of seats in upper, central and northern Assam. But Raijor Dal is eyeing the minority seats in central and lower Assam.
“Since Raijor Dal has the support of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), it is going to perform better in minority areas than AJP. The KMSS has a base even among migrant Muslims, unlike the All Assam Students’ Union which supports the AJP,” the source said.
Since the Congress and AIUDF are still in a tussle over seats in minority areas where the BJP is not a factor yet, the AJP-Raijor Dal alliance is expecting some gain. AJP will try to get a maximum number of seats in lower Assam and those in and around Guwahati where indigenous Assamese communities have a significant presence.
A Raijor Dal leader said they would announce their list of candidates before the BJP. But the only glitch is that the AJP and Raijor Dal are still undecided on the seats in the areas where indigenous votes are a factor for victory in upper Assam.