After the Congress-led mahajot, trouble seems to be brewing in the regional front of the newly-floated Assam Gana Parishad (AJP) and Raijor Dal, headed by jailed rights activist Akhil Gogoi.
The Raijor Dal on Saturday evening announced its list of 18 candidates, 12 for the first phase of election on March 27 and six for the second phase on April 1. According to the list, Mr. Gogoi would be contesting the Sivasagar Assembly seat in eastern Assam.
But the party ended up naming candidates for four seats where ally AJP had already nominated its candidates. These seats are Bihpuria, Dhing, Rangapara and Thowra.
On March 5, the AJP nominated Achyut Saikia, Anjar Hussain, Ajay Tanti and Dipen Tanti for these seats. Barely 24 hours later, the Raijor Dal named Anup Saikia, Mehboob Muktab, Bijay Tirki and Dhairya Konwar respectively.
Mr. Konwar is the general secretary of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, a peasants’ rights group Mr. Gogoi had founded.
If that were not enough, the Raijor Dal announced the possibility of contesting the Dhemaji and Mariani seats too. The AJP has named Chittaranjan Basumatary and Rajib Kumar Hazarika for these seats.
Raijor Dal’s working president, Bhasco De Saikia said the issues over seat-sharing would be discussed with the AJP. Members of his party attributed the “misunderstanding” between the two parties to a lack of proper communication.
The party is expected to contest 10 seats in the third phase, scheduled on April 6.
