In Assam, BJP may contest 13 of 14 LS seats

GUWAHATI: With Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) out of the ruling coalition in Assam, BJP is looking to have an easy bargain on seat-sharing with its lone ally, Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

“BJP will focus on 13 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state. One seat, Kokrajhar, will be left to BPF,” a party insider said, adding that the election strategy has been prepared with feedback from the grassroots workers.

AGP had walked out of the alliance in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

While public protests against the bill appeared to be directed against the saffron party, the recent panchayat and Autonomous District Council elections did not seem to reflect that. BJP emerged victorious, quite comfortably, in both. “BJP will easily win at least 10-11 seats,” finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in Golaghat on Thursday.