Guwahati, Dec 31 (IANS) With the Assam Assembly elections drawing closer, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) president and state minister Atul Bora on Wednesday said the coming months would be decisive for strengthening regional political forces in the state, asserting that the party’s alliance with the BJP is a “natural tie-up” and will remain intact in the future as well.

Addressing party workers, Bora said the AGP is gearing up to intensify its organisational activities and promote its vision of an Atmanirbhar Assam. He said the party will launch a series of programmes focused on institution-building and household-level income generation to strengthen grassroots empowerment across the state.

Bora stressed that the AGP would put in maximum effort to expand its organisational footprint and political relevance ahead of the crucial Assembly elections.

Taking a firm political stand, the AGP chief identified the Congress-led UPA as the party’s principal political opponent. Recalling the Assam Agitation, he said that 855 people lost their lives during the movement when the Congress was in power. “For this reason, the UPA remains our main enemy,” Bora said, reiterating that the AGP stands firmly with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

He said the AGP has been an integral part of the NDA since 2020 and has consistently contested elections in alliance with it. Bora recalled that the AGP and BJP jointly fought the 2016 Assembly elections, which resulted in the NDA forming the government in Assam, and once again contested the 2021 polls together.

On the issue of delimitation, Bora said the exercise has now been completed while retaining the total number of Assembly seats at 126. He pointed out that large-scale infiltration has led to significant demographic changes in Assam and said delimitation had long been a core demand of the AGP. “The Central government has carried out delimitation, and politically it has worked in our favour,” he added.

Highlighting the party’s future-oriented approach, Bora said the AGP is placing special emphasis on youth participation by inducting new and young faces into politics to build a strong leadership pipeline for the coming years.

Explaining the rationale behind the AGP’s continued alliance with the BJP, Bora said the BJP had supported the Assam Movement and shared the AGP’s commitment to preventing infiltration. “Infiltration must be stopped permanently. The AGP has been consistently demanding the strengthening of the second line of defence to effectively secure the border,” he said.

Bora also said that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has entrusted him with responsibility for the Assam Accord department. He added that work related to the implementation of the historic Accord is being pursued with seriousness and momentum.

–IANS

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