AGP will be Largest Party in Assam: Chandra Mohan Patowary

NEW DELHI: The Asom Gana Parishad held informal talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party here on Monday in an attempt to form a non-Congress government in Assam.

"People want change in Assam. We are confident of forming a non-Congress government. We have got positive response from several parties," AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary, who was in the Capital for two days, told ET on Tuesday. According to a source, AGP leaders who were here met the BJP's brass including party president Nitin Gadkari, senior leader LK Advani and leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley.

The source said AGP and BJP were eager to ensure that Congress is kept out of power and have reached an understanding to enter into an alliance.

The AGP is also in touch with the Bodoland People's Front (BPF), which is an ally of the Congress at present. BPF has also expressed its willingness to join the proposed alliance. BPF has made it clear that it will not be on the same side of the political aisle as Badruddin Ajmal's AUDF. BJP too had declared that it was ready to align with any party barring Congress and AUDF. Besides these, AGP has an alliance with smaller regional parties in the state like the Gana Sakti, Bodoland People's Progressive Front and the Autonomous State Demand Committee.