Guwahati, Jan. 30: Last night was certainly the longest for the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in recent memory. By the time party president Brindaban Goswami defeated challenger Prafulla Kumar Mahanta to earn a second term in office, it was morning. The first light of the day, however, did not quite dispel the darkness within the AGP.
In the span of 24 hours, the divide in the party became so pronounced that a repeat of 1990, when it suffered a split, looked possible.
In 1990, former home minister Bhrigu Kumar Phukan and Goswami revolted against Mahanta and formed the Natun Asom Gana Parishad. The breakaway group returned to the AGP fold in 1992, but the enmity between Goswami and Mahanta remained.
Mahanta was ambiguous on being asked whether he might consider joining another party with Goswami strengthening his position. ?I will not say anything now,? he said. The former chief minister?s relieved rival said his victory proved that ?fears of a split were misplaced?.
Goswami described the election as a ?strong show of internal democracy?, but party members close to Mahanta said there was no reason why the former party president should ?play second fiddle to others?.
One of the factors that will have a bearing on the party?s unity is the reconstitution of the executive council, which Goswami said would be done ?after consultations with all concerned?.
If the party president decides to remove known Mahanta loyalists from the council, several of them could leave the party immediately.
A Goswami aide, however, discounted the possibility. ?Why should Goswami remove them? He gets along very well with them and they, too, have been very supportive ever since he became party president in 2001.? The aide said Goswami stood a better chance of maintaining unity in the party by retaining ?Mahanta?s men? in the council.
But should the former AGP president?s confidants persuade him to take the drastic step of leaving for greener pastures, it will be a big blow to the party before the Lok Sabha poll.
Sources said Mahanta might turn to his friends in the BJP for support after being snubbed by the party he led for 16 years on the trot. Though the 2001 Assembly poll proved otherwise, the former chief minister has been advocating a tie-up with the BJP to avert division of the non-Congress votes.
Goswami is, however, opposed to the idea and has been citing the drubbing the AGP-BJP combine received at the hands of the Congress in the 2001 election. The moderates are hoping that the AGP will become a united house, given the fact that the 1990 split led to the party being ousted from power. ?We do not want history to repeat itself. The AGP can do without another split,? a senior leader said.
Blaming Goswami for all the ills plaguing the AGP, Mahanta had said a few days ago that the party chief had failed to do justice to workers harassed by the ruling Congress.