AGP–BJP rift widens in Assam's Sadiya as local unit walks out of alliance

In a major political development that could reshape electoral equations in Upper Assam, cracks have emerged in the alliance between the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the strategically important Sadiya Assembly constituency.

The Sadiya unit of the AGP has formally announced the termination of its alliance with the BJP at the constituency level. The decision was taken at an emergency executive committee meeting chaired by the President of the AGP’s Sadiya Regional Committee and was subsequently made public through a press conference.

AGP leaders accused their alliance partner of consistently sidelining the regional party and alleged that the BJP has been adopting a “step-motherly attitude” towards AGP workers and leadership in Sadiya. The party further charged the BJP with failing to honour the basic principles, ethics, and responsibilities of coalition politics, asserting that its ally has shown little regard for what it described as “alliance dharma.”

Escalating the political stakes ahead of the forthcoming Assam Assembly elections, the AGP’s Sadiya unit has urged the party’s central leadership to field an AGP candidate from the constituency, replacing the sitting BJP MLA, Bolin Chetia. The demand signals a clear assertion of regional identity and autonomy by the AGP at a time when seat-sharing dynamics within the ruling alliance remain under scrutiny.

Political observers believe the open fallout could have far-reaching implications for the Sadiya constituency, potentially impacting grassroots mobilisation, alliance arithmetic, and voter sentiment as the state moves closer to the Assembly polls.