Is it truly possible for the AJP to contest in all 126 Constituencies of Assam?

GUWAHATI: Lurin Jyoti Gogoi, the newly-appointed President of the Asom Jatiya Party (AJP), yesterday proclaimed that the regional forces would be contesting in each of the 126 Assembly Constituencies in Assam in the 2021 elections. He further exuded confidence that the regional forces of Assam -- led from the forefront by the AJP -- will form the next Government in Assam.

Although this might look impressive on the surface-level, a closer analysis will reveal that contesting in all the Constituencies will be no easy task -- especially for a party that took its final shape only a few months ahead of the polls. With national parties like the BJP and Congress pouring crores into their election campaign, how does one party, with the Citizenship Amendment Act as its main poll plank, live up to the expectations?

"For one, the party has to accumulate enough funds for their candidates to contest the polls. If you peg the amount of money per candidate at Rs. 1 crore, they will have to put together a sum of Rs. 126 crore," says Manjit Mahanta, Senior Journalist from Assam.

Mahanta further adds that although some rich donors might chip in with funds ahead of the election, it depends on the viability of the candidates winning the Seat. "Therefore, much will depend on what kinds of candidates they can put up because donors will not contribute if the candidates have no chance of winning."

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Mahanta feels that the AJP's best chance of making an impact will be by forging alliances. "If instead of floating candidates in all 126 Constituencies, they form an alliance and focus on 10-odd Seats that they have a chance of winning, they will have a better chance of making an impact."

Gogoi, talking to Inside Northeast, says that "regional forces" are gearing up to contest in all of the 126 Constituencies. "It is still early days to speak on the matter, but I have said that regional forces will contest in each of the Constituencies.

Jagadish Bhuyan, the General Secretary of the party, says that the possibility of contesting in all the Constituencies depends on the organizational structure of a party. "In the case of the AJP, the organizational structure of the party is complete. Till now, we have already set up 28 district-level committees and efforts are being made to reach the grassroots level. In some areas, like the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), for instance, we are planning to float candidates from ethnic communities belonging to regional parties that are currently not in an alliance with anyone. We are planning to forge alliances with all the regional powers that are non-communal in nature."

Bhuyan, choosing not to make a prediction in regards to number of Seats that can be won, remains confident that the AJP will outperform expectations in 2021. "Although we do not wish to state exactly how many Seats can be won, we remain confident that a regionalism-focussed Government will be formed under our supervision."

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