Congress, CPI(M) to give joint fight to BJP in Assam in 2021 assembly elections

Opposition Congress and CPI(M) in Assam on Wednesday said they will join hands to fight the BJP-led government in the upcoming assembly elections next year.

Congress state unit secretary Prafulla Kumar Das said the decision was taken during a meeting between senior leaders of both the parties.

"The leaders have agreed to fight together and dethrone the RSS-BJP government in the state," he said.

CPI(M) central committee member Suprakash Talukdar said the Left party has "in-principle agreed" to join the Congress-led 'Grand Alliance'.

"We will have more meetings and discuss about the details of the alliance," he said. The other Left parties, comprising the CPI and CPI(ML), have also given consent to support the alliance.

AIUDF had already agreed to join the proposed 'Grand Alliance',

The new regional entity 'Anchalik Gana Morcha' (AGM) floated by Rajya Sabha Member Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, who was supported by the Congress and AIUDF, has also agreed to be in the combine.

Elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly is likely in March-April next year. The 2016 polls resulted in a fractured mandate and no party had an absolute majority.

The BJP is the single largest party with 60 MLAs, while its allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and BPF have 14 and 12 lawmakers, respectively. The ruling coalition also has the support of an Independent MLA.

The opposition Congress has 23 MLAs, while the AIUDF has 14 members in the House.