AGP and regionalism

As Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the oldest existing regional party of Assam, completed 37 years of its existence and entered its 38th year, it is an occasion to look at the pros and cons of regionalism as a political activity. First and foremost, it must be put on record that AGP is not the first regional political party of Assam. Soon after India attained independence, a political party by the name of Ujani Asam Rajya Parishad was formed in Assam. The All Party Hill Leaders' Conference (APHLC), which had played a crucial role in the creation of Meghalaya in the early 1970s, was constituted as a political party in 1960. The Plains Tribal Council of Assam (PTCA) for instance was founded in 1967. In the late 1960s, Bhupen Hazarika, Hemendra Prasad Barooah and a few others formed a regional party called Jana Ganatantrik Dal or People's Democratic Party, which however did not last long. The 1970s saw the emergence of at least two important regional political parties – Purbanchaliya Loka Parishad (PLP) and Asom Jatiyabadi Dal (AJD). When the AGP was formed in October 1985, most leaders of these two regional parties joined it. The AGP itself had suffered a few splits. In 1991, the first split was caused by Bhrigu Kumar Phukan, Dinesh Goswami, Brindaban Goswami, Bijoya Chakravarty and others who formed the Natun Asom Gana Parishad (NAGP). In 1996, Atul Bora (Senior) walked out to form his regional party, which had fielded social activist Deven Dutta as a Lok Sabha candidate in 1998. In 2001, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta himself quit the parent AGP to form AGP (Progressive), only to return home a few years later. In 2005 was formed the Bodo People's Front (BPF), ruled the Bodoland Territorial Council for several years, and even remained an ally of the Congress and then of the BJP. The latest regional party in Assam is Asam Jatiya Parishad floated by former AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi, one which failed to make an impressive debut. In 2020, the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader formed Raijor Dal, which too failed to make any significant headway. What has been seen is that barring APHLC (which successfully led the movement for the creation of Meghalaya) and AGP, all other regional parties have been stories of failures. The AGP itself is a kind of failure in that it has been reduced to a small entity, smaller than even the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), which was formed in 2015. While it celebrates its 38th foundation day, it is time the AGP delved deep into the importance, significance and relevance of regionalism, which can go hand in hand with large national parties to bring about all-around development and justice for Assam. Enrolling 25 lakh members cannot be the only purpose or objective. Rather what it wants the 25 lakh members to do for Assam is more important.