This story is from May 20, 2016

Regional leaders make a glorious comeback from oblivion

The spectacular win of the BJP-AGP-BPF combine on Thursday saw the return of Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and other regional satraps from long years in political wilderness.
Regional leaders make a glorious comeback from oblivion
Guwahati: The spectacular win of the BJP-AGP-BPF combine on Thursday saw the return of Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and other regional satraps from long years in political wilderness.
Most of these stalwarts were at the forefront of the 1979-85 anti-foreigner agitation launched by All Assam Students' Union (Aasu) and the now-defunct Assam Gana Sangram Parishad.

Mahanta, himself a two-time chief minister, spent 15 years in political oblivion before Thursday's decisive mandate in favour of BJP-AGP-BPF. In between, he left AGP and floated a parallel organization called AGP (Progressive). In 2008, he returned to the mother party.
"Our objective was to give a non-Congress government to the people of Assam and we are happy at the success of the alliance that has given a new alternative to Congress," Mahanta, who won from Barhampur, said.
Other former student leaders to taste success this election are AGP president Atul Bora, former Aasu chief Keshab Mahanta, Ramendra Narayan Kalita and Pradip Hazarika. Bora won from Bokakhat, while Mahanta, Kalita and Hazarika were returned from Kaliabor, Guwahati West and Amguri, respectively. For a decade and a half, AGP was completely marginalized in Assam's politics because of the towering presence of Congress chief minister Tarun Gogoi who ruled the state for three consecutive terms. One issue that brought AGP closer to BJP was the latter's hardline stand on the question of Bangladeshi infiltration. Unlike in the past, however, AGP will play second fiddle to BJP this time. In its previous alliance with the saffron party, the regional organization was the dominant partner. This time, AGP contested 24 seats, while BJP fielded candidates from 89 constituencies. The remaining seats were allotted to BP F, another influential regional organization. AGP managed to win 14 seats in this election.
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