Mahanta ready to ally with Cong on anti-CAA plank: Jayshree Goswami

GUWAHATI: Former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta is ready to ally with the Congress-led grand alliance “because he is always ready to side with the people of Assam who are opposing the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act 2019)”.

This was stated by his wife Jayshree Goswami while speaking to a section of the media here today.

“He has always been opposing the CAA since 2015. He’s spent all his life fighting for the people of Assam ... In the present context the grand alliance is a group of parties who are all opposed to the CAA. So, there cannot be any issue allying with the Congress alliance,” she said.

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“Since the BJP has announced candidate from Barhampur, he cannot sit idle. He has always been with the people and cannot afford to stay away from them. Many people from Barhampur are asking him to take a step. Many of them even went to airport to receive him yesterday and requested him to stand by them. Under the circumstances, he’ll take a stance soon,” the former MP added.

Barhampur will go to polls on March 27 and the last date for filing nomination is March 9.

One of Mahanta’s close aides had yesterday said he would go ahead with his Asom Gana Parishad (Pragatishil) to contest the polls. He also hinted that the party would field candidates from at least 15 seats.

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Sources said, AGP’s youth wing leader Biswajyoti Mahanta has already collected nomination papers for Mahanta as an AGP (P) candidate.

The BJP’s Barhampur candidature has also left five-time Nagaon MP Rajen Gohain disappointed. He has, however, announced that he would not quit BJP “although old party workers are nowadays treated as spent force in the BJP”.

“We have no value in the party any more. But, I am not going to switch loyalty to any other party at this age. I’ve served the party long enough and will continue to work for the party till the end of my life,” Gohain told newsmen replying to query if he was considering joining any other party. Sources close to Gohain, several parties have offered him ticket from Barhampur in Nagaon district.