AGP Road Map

AGP Road Map

So now Assam’s leading regional party, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), will have a dedicated expert cell to give it a prescription to confront its many maladies and recover from its present state of disarray. The cell will work out a vision document for the party. But first thing first. The greatest crisis the AGP faces is in its leadership. And when we say leadership, we mean the sheer absence of a leader in the AGP who enjoys considerable mass support, who can relate to the masses and who the masses will have reasons to trust, who can articulate the party’s position on a whole gamut of issues with great acumen and whose voice will thus matter, who can engage other parties, especially the ruling party, in meaningful debates and deliberations, who is not given to the shoddy syndrome of allegations and counter-allegations but who speaks only after doing solid homework and can prove what he says — a leader who is intelligent. The AGP might argue that other parties, including the Congress, are also not blessed with such leaders. But the fact remains that only a leader of that sort can rescue the sinking AGP ship; it does not have any other great qualifications as to be able to soar despite the leadership vacuum. More importantly, the regional party’s reputation stands besmirched — a steep decline from the 1985 glory to the present abyss — mainly because of its open betrayal of the trust of the Assamese people during its 10-year disastrous rule. However, given the nature of the AGP’s genesis, the people of Assam would still perhaps give it a chance if it were to mend its ways and chart out a new trajectory. But in the absence of a leader with the attributes we have mentioned, who will choose the right trajectory? The present breed of leaders would rather place their egos and their own interests above the interest of the party despite being aware of the tragedy that has befallen it. Therefore, first and foremost, the AGP needs a leader. And it is for the party to locate him/her.

Secondly, the AGP cannot afford to be ambiguous on the two chief problems plaguing the State — illegal immigration from Bangladesh and militancy. Would the party ever come into being if there were no illegal immigration from Bangladesh to Assam and the six-year-long agitation against the State’s demographic topsy-turvydom as a result of the undeterred flow of the illegal Bangladeshi crowd to the State? Therefore, the party’s stand on the issue must be clear and consistent. And it will have to explain as to why after coming to power in the wake of the signing of the Assam Accord that put an end to the Assam Agitation and with the promise made to the people of the State that it would weed out every single of the illegal Bangladeshis settled in the State, the party would rather begin to discover in the illegal Bangladeshis a wonderful and sustainable electoral asset! As for the issue of militancy, a routine, dull we-want-peace discourse will just not do. The AGP has to come up with an alternative model of governance so as to free the State from the scourge of militancy/terrorism. Let the party explain how it will solve the problem, including of course the ULFA stalemate. Let the party tell the people of Assam what it can do that the ruling Congress cannot. In the ultimate analysis, the AGP needs a complete overhaul. And this cannot happen — and we are back to square one — unless there is a leader to preside over the party’s transformation. Find that leader first — and fast — for the sake of democracy in Assam. What is democracy sans a responsible and effective opposition? THE SENTINEL