Guwahati, Jan. 27: A last-ditch attempt by moderates in the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) to avert a contest between party president Brindaban Goswami and challenger Prafulla Kumar Mahanta faded tonight with both leaders sticking to their decision to slug it out at the three-day annual conference, beginning in Tezpur tomorrow.
One of the AGP leaders involved in the exercise said the idea was to put party unity ahead of personal ambition with the Lok Sabha poll being just round the corner.
However, neither Goswami nor Mahanta reportedly considered the proposal to withdraw from the race for the top job. The duo instead went all out to impress the 447 members of the electoral college that will decide who would be party president for the next term. The poll is slated for Thursday.
The Mahanta camp is planning a show of strength before the annual conclave gets under way. The former chief minister and his supporters are expected to reach the venue of the conference, known to be Goswami?s stronghold, in a convoy.
A Mahanta loyalist said the comeback man personally called on the delegates to the conference and conveyed his readiness to take over the reins of the party again. He claimed the moderates had suggested that the former president settle for the post of leader of the Opposition instead of challenging Goswami?s bid for a second term, but it was rejected.
?We told them that we are ready to avoid a direct contest provided Goswami remains the leader of the Opposition and leaves the post of president to Mahanta.?
A confidant of Goswami, however, ruled out the possibility of agreeing to any such ?compromise formula?. He said the AGP president enjoyed the support of the majority of the electoral-college members.
The struggle at the top is likely to dominate the three-day conference despite the party?s central executive committee resolving to focus on devising a strategy for the Lok Sabha poll.
Mahanta, who had been re-elected party president at the last AGP conference in Nagaon three years ago, relinquished the post to Goswami in the aftermath of allegations that he had committed bigamy and the debacle in the Assembly poll.
He announced his decision to challenge Goswami a day after the AGP executive committee resolved to be a ?united house? to maximise the party?s chances of regaining lost ground in the Lok Sabha poll.
The former chief minister claimed he had been pressured into taking the decision by ?the same lot of party colleagues who had asked me to resign in 2001?. He said his comeback had more to do with the party?s needs than ambition.
?I have told them (supporters) that I am ready to take the responsibility. I am always ready to shoulder any responsibility that the party entrusts me with. I must respect the valued opinion and suggestions of my party colleagues.?