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G Vinayak in Guwahati
After nearly a year-long absence from the state, former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has plunged into active politics once again, sending jitters within his own Asom Gana Parishad party as well as the ruling Congress.
For a fortnight now, Mahanta, who was ousted from power in the May 2001 elections, has been touring the upper Assam districts of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sibsagar, Jorhat and Nagaon, meeting party workers and gauging the mood among the masses.
"It was nice to be back among the people once again," the former chief minister said. After the AGP was routed in the May 2001 general elections, Mahanta also suffered a personal setback when he had to step down as AGP president following allegations of a "second marriage" leveled against him by a state government employee, Saghamitra Bharali.
Mahanta's foray into upper Assam has understandably made the present party leadership wary. But the former chief minister was quick to dispel any notions about his attempting a "coup" against party chief Brindaban Goswami. "It does not matter what position I hold in the party. The priority is to rebuild the party at the grass-root level," he said.
Goswami, a former education minister under Mahanta, has so far failed to revitalise the party after its poll debacle and several middle rung party leaders have started a subtle campaign seeking Mahanta's return to the helm. The former chief minister is, however, disinclined to hurry things up at the moment and is clearly biding his time.
Mahanta said his tour of upper Assam areas has revealed that the people of the state are fed up with the Tarun Gogoi government. He said the AGP now stands a far better chance to come back to power.
Criticising the Congress for its "failure on all fronts," Mahanta said the government has no clear-cut policy to solve the insurgency problem. He said he would request Union Minister for Disinvestment Arun Shourie, who holds additional charge of development of the Northeast, to set up an office of the Department of North Eastern Region in Guwahati to monitor the implementation of development schemes. "Arun Shourie should stay in the city at least for a week once in a month," he said.
Mahanta, who now divides his time between Guwahati and Delhi, denied reports that he was lobbying to become a governor. "I am an active worker of the AGP and have no intention to give up politics," he said.
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