Local BJP, AGP workers protest against alliance decision

Angered by their parties' decision on seat sharing in the upcoming Assam assembly polls, a large section of local leaders and the workers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) across the Brahmaputra Valley on Thursday burnt effigies of senior party leaders and threatened to put up independent candidates against the official nominee.

Breaking office furniture in party offices in various districts, the demonstrators took to the streets coming out in massive processions, burnt effigies of their party leaders.

They claimed that despite the grass-root workers working all this while to ensure the victory of their party candidates, the leadership stitched the alliance for seat sharing to deprive them from contesting the polls.

The protestors from both parties also claimed that though their respective candidates had the potential to win from the seats, now "the seats have been sold to new ones who have never worked in the constituency.

"They have underestimated our worth and what we can do", they said.

They alleged the party leadership went ahead with the alliance to serve their narrow political interest despite the party leaders and workers at the grass-root and constituency level strongly opposing their respective parties' joining hands with each other.

The BJP workers and supporters also blamed the newly inducted former Congress leader Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma of being behind the alliance to bring BJP to power in the state by any means ignoring its workers sentiments and hard work.

The BJP and AGP will jointly fight the coming assembly elections as announced by former Chief Minister and AGP leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on Wednesday in Delhi after top AGP leadership had an hour-long discussion with BJP President Amit Shah.