BJP-AGP poll deal likely by March 10: Assam CM Himanta

GUWAHATI

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday (February 27, 2026) said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would go for friendly contests with its allies in seats where “disputes” remain unresolved.

He, however, hoped that the BJP would be able to seal a seat-sharing deal with its primary allies—the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF)—for the upcoming Assembly polls by March 10.

The elections to the 126-member State Assembly are expected in April, preferably before the mid-month Rongali or Bohag Bihu.

“We will be happy if the BJP and AGP reach an understanding on the sharing of seats, but we will have friendly contests if there are disputes in some seats,” the Chief Minister said.

He said the deal with the Hagrama Mohilary-led BPF was more or less finalised on February 26. He expected an agreement with the AGP on the seat allocation by March 10.

The AGP fancies its chances in areas, particularly in eastern and northeastern Assam, where the BJP also has stakes. The BPF, on the other hand, exercises clout in most of the 15 Assembly seats straddling the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) administered by the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

The Chief Minister was silent about the Pramod Boro-led United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), its BTR-specific ally in the 2021 polls and a rival of the BPF. The BJP ruled the BTC as a minor ally of the UPPL from 2020 to 2025, when they lost power to the BPF.

The BJP allied with the BPF soon after it won 28 of the 40 seats in the BTC. It also made one of the BPF legislators a minister in the State Cabinet, while choosing to be ambivalent about the status of its ties with the UPPL.

Outreach yatra

The Chief Minister said the BJP will launch a ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ from Saturday (February 28), to establish “direct contact” with the people. Scheduled to begin from a temple in north-central Assam’s Dhekiajuli Assembly constituency, the yatra has been planned to cover about 50 seats.

A statement issued by the State BJP read: “The developmental and welfare initiatives of both the Central and State governments will be taken to the people through this yatra. The objective is also to seek their blessings for the forthcoming elections.”

In January, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee undertook a similar outreach campaign. It was called ‘Raijor podulit raijor Congress”, meaning ‘People’s Congress at people’s doorsteps”.