BRACING FOR ELECTORAL WAR
On the surface, the assembly election in Assam, to be conducted in three phases—on March 27, April 1 and April 6—looks like a three-cornered contest. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Asom Gana Parishad (BJPAGP) alliance is pitted against a grand alliance of eight parties—the Congress, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), the Anchalik Gana Morcha, the CPI, the CPI(M), the CPI(ML) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal—and a smaller potential alliance of two new parties, the Raijor Dal (RD) and the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP). But there are all sorts of undercurrents that will determine the final winner on May 2.
Take the case of the Congress-led alliance. They tried hard to avoid a split in the Opposition votes, which is why Congress leaders kept trying, even after repeated rebuffs, to persuade the RD and AJP to join and strengthen the
