The lackluster meet in Guwahati to mark the 15th foundation day of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) was indicative enough of the declining popularity of the ruling party in Assam. Though the party president and Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on the occasion claimed that the AGP had been able to make its mark in the regional and national level in just 15 years, the fact remains that because of the poor performance of the government and factional feuds within the party, the people of Assam have lost its faith in the present AGP leadership.

Mr. Mahanta had called upon party workers to make the party stronger and more popular. One could only feel sorry for the AGP workers as they have to defend a bad case, which many say has already been lost in the people’s court. It’s a pity that the party which was formed after the sacrifice of over 850 young lives during the historic Assam Agitation is now in such a sorry state, that too within such a short span of time.

The party leadership, especially Prafulla Mahanta, who occupies the post of the party president for more than 12 years during AGP’s 15 years of existence, should take the entire blame of bringing the party to such a lamentable position. The track record of Mr. Mahanta, both as party president and Chief Minister, is pathetic, to say the least. The AGP faced split thrice under Mr. Mahanta’s leadership. Senior and influential leaders like the late Dinesh Goswami, Bhrigu Phukan, Atul Bora and others were either expelled or forced to leave the party, to quell any challenge to Mr. Mahanta’s leadership. Corruption charges were levelled against Mr. Mahanta and his colleagues. One of Mr. Mahanta’s cabinet colleagues instigated violence in the Bodo dominated areas of the State soon after the AGP came to power for the second time in 1996, yet he was not punished. Mr. Mahanta cannot claim any credit for the improved law and order situation in the State under the unified command structure as he was totally opposed to such an arrangement. Mr. Mahanta agreed to such an arrangement only when the Centre threatened to use Article 356.

Under Mr. Mahant’s stewardship Assam’s economy has only worsened further. Though the State was reimbursed for security related expenditure and the Central Government had given many concessions in the last few years to attract investment in the State, the State Government has failed to utilise all these opportunities. Mr. Mahanta is one of the most vocal supporters of the autonomy demand, yet his Government has failed to hold panchayat elections in the State. The State Government has also failed to control the flood menace.

When the AGP was formed in 1985, the people of Assam supported the party with the hope that it would be different from the Congress and tackle the problems of the State with a sense of urgency, which was lacking during the Congress regime. But the AGP never made any efforts to honour the popular wishes. The party which vowed to stop illegal immigration from across the international border, turned a blind eye to this problem once it came to power. To hide its failure, the party claimed that the controversial IM (DT) Act should be amended to discourage infiltrators from entering the State. But the party never spelt which clause of the Act it wants to be amended. The party was critical about politician-contractor nexus as it was hampering the development of the State. Strangely, when it came to power, the AGP leadership never tried to distance itself from the contractors. Unscrupulous contractors continued to loot the State under the AGP patronage.

Instead of being different from the Congress, the AGP leaders choose to follow the footsteps of the party. Merely, within a year of formation of the party, infighting surfaced within the party. And with four years of its inception, the party suffered a vertical split when party stalwarts like Dinesh Goswami, Bhrigu Phukan, Pulakesh Barua, David Ledger, Bhadreswar Borgohain left the party and formed Natun Assam Gana Parishad. And today, within 15 years of its formation, while Mr. Mahanta is heading the AGP, two of his lieutenants Bhrigu Phukan and Atul Bora are now heading two different regional outfits.

With Assembly elections round the corner in Assam, the AGP leaders in the meet expressed confidence that the party would bounce back to power. But, according to many, the leaders are simply daydreaming. The observers strongly feel that unless the AGP prevents division in anti-Congress votes, the chance of party coming back to power is bleak. In 1996, AGP bounced back to power after its dismal performance in 1991 due to the fact that it formed an alliance with the Left and UPPA. But this time, along with the AGP, the ruling alliance has become unpopular and more importantly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has finally arrived in the State’s political scene. The party is sure to make its presence felt in the forthcoming Assembly elections and it’s not good news for the AGP as the BJP will make a dent in the former’s vote bank.