Lok Sabha elections: AGP, BJP to reach out to grassroots workers for resolving differences

GUWAHATI: Despite sealing a seat-sharing deal ahead of the Lok Sabha election, BJP and AGP face a daunting task to settle differences prevailing among the grassroots workers of the two parties over the issue of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. Though the top brass of the saffron party has convinced party grassroots workers to accept the poll pact with the regional party for political gains, the district committees of the regional party are not willing to compromise on the bill and the illegal migrants' issue.

Earlier, AGP had walked out of the alliance with BJP over differences on the citizenship bill. But earlier this week, the two parties announced that they have revived their alliance and will together contest the Lok Sabha polls.

"There will be cooperation with the BJP but there will be conditions while doing so at the district-level. We are ready to fight the Lok Sabha election together, but BJP will have to respect the aspirations of the grassroots workers of the AGP. Even before the last assembly elections in Assam , AGP had a tie-up with the BJP based on certain conditions, but the saffron party failed to implement those conditions in letter and spirit," said Ponakan Baruah, president of the Dibrugarh district committee of the AGP and also a central committee spokesperson of the party.

However, Anup Kumar Medhi, a state executive member of the BJP from Kamrup district, said, "Since our state and national leadership have decided to finalize the alliance with AGP, we are ready to fight the election together. The alliance with AGP won't harm BJP's prospects in the election. Instead, this will further strengthen the common front against the Congress."

General secretary of the Assam BJP, Dilip Saikia, said that as a confidence-building measure, the saffron party will reach out to the grassroots workers of AGP and BJP. "The need of the hour is to defeat the Congress and ensure that Modiji comes back. We have forged the alliance keeping in mind the development agenda," said Saikia.