With the Election Commission (EC) declaring the seven-phase Lok Sabha election dates on Sunday, the various political parties in Kokrajhar are girding up their loins for ‘Election Battleground 2019’. Even the Independent candidates are bracing up for the same.
Urkao Gwra Brahma, president of United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), said that his party is all set to contest from Kokrajhar Lok Sabha constituency and it will be a three-cornered contest – Bodoland People’s Front (BPL), Sitting MP Naba Sarania and the UPPL are in the fray.
Brahma exuded a lot of confidence, “I am sure this time UPPL will win from the Fifth Kokrajhar Lok Sabha constituency because the ruling BPF and Hira Sarania’s votes will split. Our party’s votes will remain intact. Even during the 2014 general elections, our party occupied the second slot after Naba Sarania. Our vote share has also increased.”
He further stated that there will be lot of parties in the fray in Kokrajhar like BJP, Congress and CPM. The UPPL will field two candidates from Kokrajhar and Mangaldai constituencies and in Tezpur and Guwahati, the party will support Independent candidates.
“The BPF is in a fix whether to field Pramila Rani Brahma or Prabin Boro. The BJP is not in a favourable position in Assam this time round as the people had to grapple with lot of issues like the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), granting ST status to six communities and, of course, the Bodoland issue. The Narendra Modi government has failed to keep its promises.” Brahma also said that if the AGP again gets into an alliance with the BJP, it will be “committing harakiri”.