Last Tuesday’s celebration of the Asom Gana Parishad’s 23rd birth anniversary was aimed at winning back the goodwill that the party once enjoyed. Prafulla Kumar Mahanta’s homecoming and the return of three breakaway factions, including his, are expected to reinvigorate the party.  

The leaders made the right noises: the new party chief spoke of the mistakes the party made while in power, including inattention to the implementation of the Assam Accord and its failure to expand its support among ethnic minorities. Words of regret, however, were not enough to satisfy many old supporters. The All Assam Students Union (AASU) remains adamantly opposed to Mahanta’s re-admission.  His re-entry became possible only after party leader Brindaban Goswami was ousted. Goswami stayed away from Tuesday’s festivities. 

Mahanta quit as AGP president in 2001, following the party’s electoral debacle, and amidst a sordid scandal of a bigamous relationship. He was expelled from the party in 2005. The appearance of complicity with the extra-judicial killings of innocent relatives of leading ULFA leaders during his tenure as chief minister branded him a “traitor” in AASU’s eyes.

The impetus for unification has come entirely from electoral considerations. Splits in the AGP have only helped the Congress and were a major factor in the AGP’s defeat in the 2001 and 2006.  The AGP has already come to a “tactical” understanding with the BJP. It would like to work out an alliance with Badruddin Ajmal’s Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) as well. 

The Supreme Court’s 2005 overthrow of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act radically changed the political scene. In the past, viewing political choices exclusively through the lens of security had often pushed the East Bengali-origin Muslims to seek the Congress’ protection.  The AUDF represents a new voice of confidence. 

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