Guwahati, Mar 9 : The sitting MPs of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) Sarbananda Sonowal and Dr Arun Kumar Sarma were among the names of six nominees of Assam's main opposition party announced on Monday for the Lok Sabha polls.
Besides Sonowal from Dibrugarh and Sarma from Lakhimpur, the others were Joseph Toppo in Tezpur, Bhupen Ray in Barpeta, Gunin Hazarika in Koliabor and Sabda Rabha in Kokrajhar.
AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary told reporters that its seat sharing understanding with the BJP was to defeat the Congress to form the next central government under the leadership of the saffron party.
"The AGP is not a partner of NDA and has not forged an alliance with the BJP. It is only a seat-sharing understanding to defeat the Congress unitedly.
"We told BJP that NDA has to form government in Delhi with the BJP playing the big brother's role, while in the Assam assembly polls, we will play the big brother's role," Patowary said.
Admitting that the AGP-BJP alliance in 2001 in the state was not successful as it was not at the grass-root level, he said, "this time it is at the grass-root level and the process of vote transfer has already started. The people of Assam this time will give a fitting reply to the Congress."
Patowary said the 2001 alliance did not work out as the AGP had split twice which worked to the advantage of Congress, which won.
Accusing the Congress here and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi of making 'cheap remarks against the AGP for its understanding with the BJP', he said, "if the AGP dies or our alliance dies, then what is their loss?"
He asked why the Congress, which claimed to be secular, had an alliance with the Indian Union Kerala Muslim League.
"I challenge the Congress to form the government in Delhi and here without the support of regional parties. The Congress after holding on to Mayawati shifted to Mulayam Singh for survival. The 120-year-old party has lost its propriety and it is unfortunate for democracy,"he said.
