Assam’s main regional political party — Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) — seems to have been living on its past to march forward in the future. The party had been facing severe crisis at present as many of its leaders have already left it to join other parties accusing the present party leadership.
Prominent party leaders like Atul Bora, Padma Hazarika, Ramen Kalita, Hiten Goswami, Apurba Bhattacharyya have either resigned to join parties like the BJP and the Congress or distanced themselves from the party on various grounds.
The AGP used to be the most popular and prominent political party in Assam, which was formed after the historic Assam Accord of 1985 when Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was elected as the youngest Chief Minister of the country. The AGP has formed the Government twice in the State from 1985 to 1989 and from 1996 to 2001. Addressing a Press conference on Wednesday at the party headquarters, AGP president and former two-time Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said that the party will continue to work for the interests of the people.
“National political parties and others have been constantly working against us to weaken the party. The party has faced several problems. We have done our best in the limited tenure when we were at the helm of the State for 10 years compared to Congress. We also admit that at times we have not been able to live up to the expectation of the people but we promise to continue doing good for the sake of the people,” Mahanta told reporters while addressing the conference. He highlighted the major developments of AGP. “The Central universities, IIT in Guwahati, bridge on Brahmaputra, Sankardev Kalashetra, four-lane high way took place during the days of AGP,” he added.