AGP-BJP in secret understanding for Panchayat poll

AGP and BJP are having a secret understanding in the upcoming Panchayat Poll. Officially they will not have an alliance but unofficially they will have an alliance giving each other weak candidates or keep each other's strong domain vacant so that votes do not migrate to Congress.

Although none of the leaders from both sides are coming on record but it is known from both sides that this is the deal clinched by BJP's Dr Himanta Biswa Sharma and AGP's Keshab Mahanta.

The BJP is very worried about their weakening support base following the Citizenship Amendment Bill and desperately need the AGP vote to hang on. More than that they do not want all the anti BJP vote to go to the Congress. That is why this strategy.

Idea is to clench the Panchayat with this strategy and go after the democratic protest using the Panchayat number to regain their ground position. The BJP is also secretly working hard to keep Badaruddin Ajmal's  AIUDF alive at Muslim dominated areas so that Congress voters bank is split between the two.

However officially both the parties are fighting this election separately. BJP's ally in Assam government, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has decided to contest the forthcoming Panchayat on its own.

Senior AGP leader Ramendra Narayan Kalita said, " we held a meeting with the Assam BJP leadership and informed them about our party's stand regarding the Panchayat polls."

AGP's general house the main decision making body has decided to go solo for the local polls.

Similar lines were also taken by the BJP's Dr Himanta Biswa Sharma while briefing the media. But the secret deal was already clinched as BJP would finance AGP and the AGP would ensure vote division of Congress.