Deori party shuns Congress, turns BJP ally in council

GUWAHATI: The ruling BJP in Assam received a shot in the arm on Sunday after the Jimochayan (Deori) People's Party (JPP), which emerged as the biggest opposition by winning seven of the 22 council seats in the Deori Autonomous Council (DAC) election last week, sealed a deal to become a coalition partner of the BJP in the council.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, after a closed-door meeting with JPP leaders here on Sunday evening, announced, "JPP will support and work in coordination with BJP to accelerate overall development of Deori community and its socio-economic and political progress."
Sarma said the chief executive member of the DAC will be from the BJP, which has absolute majority in the council. "BJP wants to march ahead by taking the tribal communities along with it," he added.
The NDA wrested control of all nine territorial and statutory autonomous councils by winning the DAC election last week.
JPP president Mahesh Deori rushed to Guwahati to meet Sarma to explore possibilities of forming an alliance, even though JPP fought the election as an anti-BJP front.
Though JPP was believed to have backing of Congress, Deori alleged that Congress attempted to derail their party. In a major embarrassment for the Congress, Deori shunned possibilities of stitching an alliance with the grand old party ahead of upcoming panchayat polls in the state.