| Congress
used insurgents to win polls: Mahanta
Samudra
Gupta Kashyap
Guwahati,
May 15:
Ooutgoing Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, whose Asom
Gana Parishad (AGP) received a severe trouncing in the just-concluded
Assembly elections, has blamed ULFA militants for his party’s
poll debacle.
‘‘While it remains a fact that people had high hopes which
we couldn’t fulfil, it is also a fact that activities of militants
in the run-up to polls adversely affected our prospects,’’
Mahanta told The Indian Express.
‘‘Had it not been for three valuable years lost fighting
militants, we could have fulfilled aspirations of the people,’’
he said listing how several top AGP leaders, including party general
secretary Nagen Sharma, party workers and their families had been
killed.
Mahanta also accused a section of the vernacular press of indulging
in a vilification campaign against his party and government.
‘‘Some papers only projected the negative aspects bothering
little about our achievements. Our government made Assam self-sufficient
in rice production and generated employment opportunities. But some
papers only focused on our failures and glorified militants,’’
he said.
The militants also acted as spoilers, he charged. The militants
went about in groups threatening people of dire consequences if
they voted in favour of the AGP-BJP combine, he said.
‘‘In several constituencies, especially in Nalbari district,
a lot of people either voted for the Congress out of fear, or did
not go out to cast their votes at all,’’ Mahanta said.
When asked why so many of his party stalwarts fell, the AGP chief
said that most of them had lost by very narrow margins. ‘‘It
was because our supporters were intimidated the night before the
polling day,’’ he claimed.
Mahanta also admitted that the last-minute alliance with the BJP
also a factor for the party’s dismal performance. ‘‘The
alliance came in too late and the message did not properly trickle
down to the grassroots,’’ he said, carefully avoiding
passing any remark on the BJP.
‘‘The alliance remains. There is no reason to call it
off simply because we lost the elections. The two parties will continue
to work jointly in the greater interest of the state,’’
he said.
When pointed out that senior BJP leader, Guwahati MP and Union Minister
of State Bijoya Chakravarty had blamed the AGP for the disaster,
Mahanta said, ‘‘It could be her personal observation.
Jana Krishnamurthy has already stated the BJP’s official view
in Delhi yesterday.’’
How does he propose to revive the party after such a serious drubbing?
‘‘It will take some time. May be a year or two. But the
people by and large strongly believe in regionalism. Four decades
of neglect by a Congress-ruled Centre has left a permanent wound
in the Assamese psyche,’’ he said. He also said he would
pump fresh blood into the party and draw up joint strategies with
the BJP. ‘‘Several young boys have been elected this time,
including former AASU president Sarbananda Sonowal. They will definitely
contribute towards revitalising the party,’’ he said.
On his role as Leader of the Opposition, Mahanta said, ‘‘We
will play a constructive role as is expected in a changed scenario.
While the Congress will run the government, the responsibility of
highlighting people’s issues will rest on us.’’
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