As the Congress-led alliance 'Mahajot' has disintegrated within a year of its formation, Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that the BJP has admitted Bodoland People's Front (BPF) as a partner of the party in the Legislative Assembly.
Notably, before the exit of BPF from the Mahajot, Congress broke its alliance with All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).
"From today, we have admitted the Bodoland People's Front as one of the partner parties of BJP within the Assam Legislative Assembly. We will have total floor coordination with BPF as well as they will be sitting in the ruling party's portion in the Assam assembly," Sarma said.
However, Sarma also added that so far, the friendship will be confined to the assembly and will not extend to a political level.
"This friendship will be confined to the assembly but at a political level, we have not taken any such decision. This decision has been taken only at the level of a legislature party," he said.
"BJP has not formed an alliance with BPF; the BJP Legislature Party and BPF Legislature Party will work together. On this, I have also taken consent from United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) and have discussed with them also. They have no objection to this new formation," the Chief Minister said.
"So, the total strength of BJP and its friendly legislature parties is now 82 in the Assam assembly," Sarma added.
The BPF had severed ties with BJP in February last year, just before the assembly polls in Assam and joined the grand alliance led by Congress.
Later, BPF quit the Congress-led grand alliance too.
In the Assam assembly polls, the grand alliance of Congress, AIUDF, BPF, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had won 50 seats.
Congress managed to secure 29 seats (29.7 per cent vote share) while AIUDF won 16, and Bodoland People's Front bagged four. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) secured one seat.
( With inputs from ANI )
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