Gogoi up for realignment of political forces to fight BJP

In 2011 Assembly polls, Congress won 68 seats out of the 126 constituencies while AIUDF bagged 18 seats and BJP won 15 seats.

With Assembly polls only a few months away, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi favours a realignemnt of political forces, including the AIUDF, to fight the BJP on a single platform.

Cautious about the difficult possibility of bringing the parties like CPI, CPI-M, AIUDF and Bodoland People's Front together, he says it should not be viewed as a poll alliance but a grouping of forces joining hands to tackle communalism.

"There is no such possibility (of an alliance) but I appeal to all political forces like the CPI, CPI-M, BPF and even the AIUDF to join hands against divisive forces trying to create trouble in the country," Gogoi told PTI interview.

BJP had emerged the largest winner in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections winning 7 seats out of 14 in Assam. AIUDF, led by perfume baron Badaruddin Azmal, which espouses the causes of mainly Muslim minorities, won two seats in lower Assam and one seat in Barak valley in the last year's Lok Sabha elections.

"This should not be viewed as a poll alliance but is aimed at tackling communalism which is destroying the secular fabric of the country," he said.

Gogoi, however, said such a possibility is "very thin" but he will continue to try to bring all forces against communalism together.

In 2011 Assembly polls, Congress won 68 seats out of the 126 constituencies while AIUDF bagged 18 seats. BJP won 15 seats, BPF bagged 12 and AGP got 10, TMC one and Independent two.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Congress won 3 seats while one won by an Independent.

Gogoi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "fast losing his popularity" and the BJP has 'bleak prospects' in the state assembly polls scheduled next year.

"Modi's popularity is fast waning and the results of assembly elections in different states even during the party's honeymoon period is (going to be) an indication that people are losing their faith in him," he said.