Assam polls 2016: AGP announces list of 25 candidates

Guwahati, March 10: The Asom Gana Patishad (AGP) announced a list of 25 candidates for the Assam Assembly election starting April 4.

Party chief and former Assam chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta will contest from Barhampur.

The AGP, which is contesting this year's election with the BJP, had a meeting on Wednesday to decide on the candidates' names. The steering committee's meeting, held at the residence of party legislator Keshab Mahanta, was attended by Prafulla Mahanta and other top leaders of the party.

The party decided on the names after a long discussion.

In 2011, the AGP had fielded candidates in 104 of the 126 Assembly seats, winning just 10 while finishing second in 38. The last time the north-eastern state had seen the AGP in power was in 1996-2001.

Splits in both AGP, BJP because of alliance

The alliance between the AGP and BJP, however, has not gone down with the grassroots supporters of both parties. Both parties have ven faced splits because of the tie-up.

While the faction of the AGP which opposed the alliance formed the AGP Anchalikatabadi Mancha (AGP Regional Forum), those in the BJP differing with the idea of alliance with the AGP formed their own Trinamool BJP.

Oneindia News