Congress ahead in alliance game, BJP caught in Bodoland tangle

Guwahati: Assam’s political battle is beginning to take shape after the Election Commission announced poll dates on Sunday, but BJP and Congress are moving at different speeds.Congress has already sealed an alliance with four parties — AJP, CPM, CPI(ML) and All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) — and announced most of its candidates, seeking to build early momentum.The party has so far named 65 candidates and allotted 15 seats to its four allies. Another list for the remaining seats is expected soon.BJP, meanwhile, remains locked in negotiations. The party is expected to fight the election with AGP, BPF, RHJM and UPPL, but a formal alliance is yet to be announced.

Union home minister Amit Shah held a final round of talks with the AGP in Guwahati on Sunday. Party insiders said the meeting was decisive for finalising seat-sharing arrangements. BJP is scheduled to announce its candidates on March 18 after the alliance formula is settled.Party insiders say BJP is keen to maximize its strike rate, while AGP is pressing for a larger share of seats to retain relevance, thereby opening up possibilities of friendly contests, as indicated by CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The bigger challenge for BJP lies in the Bodo heartland. The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) has returned to the NDA after five years, but its uneasy relationship with the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), a BJP ally for the past five years, continues to complicate the alliance arithmetic.Sarma has made it clear that BJP will not step in to mediate between the two Bodoland rivals, preferring they sort out their differences independently.Seat-sharing in the Bodoland Territorial Region remains unresolved. Of the 15 seats in the BTR, BJP has indicated it wants to contest four, while BPF is unwilling to settle for fewer than three. UPPL, however, has staked claim to all 15 seats, deepening the deadlock.The contrast with 2021 is sharp. In the last assembly election, both camps had stitched together broad alliances well before polling. BJP had contested with AGP and UPPL, while Congress led the Mahajot with AIUDF, BPF, CPI(M), CPI and Anchalik Gana Morcha.