Return Of A Prodigal

By Kaushik Deka

Asom Gana Parishad leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta

I can't tell you who my favourite author is as I don't want to offend anyone in Assam and I will not reveal an English name as I would not like be seen as someone who prefers another language over my mother tongue Assamese." This was Prafulla Kumar Mahanta reply when asked to name his favourite writer. This is the kind of political correctness and dogmatic parochialism which has helped the Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly stay relevant in politics for almost four decades. After living in political obscurity for the last 10 years, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader has emerged as the main challenger to the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress Government in the Assembly polls next month.

In 2001, Mahanta, two-time chief minister of Assam, lost power and the post of party president over allegations of two "extras" in his political and personal life-extra-judicial killings of family members of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), also known as Secret Killings in Assam, and an extra-marital affair. In 2005, he was expelled from the AGP on charges of anti-party activities.

He fought the 2006 elections from Asom Gana Parishad (P) and was the only winning candidate of his party. From becoming the youngest chief minister at 32 in 1985, he became a pariah in Assam politics. Experts wrote the political obituary of the man who was Jyoti Basu's choice to become the prime minister. "In a meeting of the United Front held at Delhi's AssamBhavan in 1996, Jyoti Basu suggested my name as the prime minister. I politely declined as I was more committed to Assam," claims Mahanta, who is now aiming for a third-term as chief minister .

Three years ago, this seemed an impossible dream. The then AGP president, Brindaban Goswami, vowed never to allow Mahanta's return to the party. "It was tough but I took it as an opportunity to connect with people. I travelled across Assam and tried to understand where I went wrong," says the 58-year-old leader.

Goswami failed to connect with grassroots workers and Mahanta's loyalists inside the party forced him to quit as president. Chandra Mohan Patowari, who became agp president in 2008, brought the former chief minister back to the party. "Patowari had no option. Since 1979, politics of Assam has revolved around Mahanta," says a senior journalist.

But for Mahanta, returning to the party was not enough. He persuaded Patowari to vacate the post of Leader of the Opposition for him in September 2010. This was a masterstroke as it projected him as the AGP's chief ministerial candidate. His next move was to snap the alliance with the BJP. The BJP's gain in the last Assembly elections and the fear of losing Muslim votes made Mahanta wary of the saffron party. He denies his role in the split, claiming, "I wanted the agp to grow stronger on its own." He doesn't rule out a post-poll alliance the BJP.

Mahanta is now ready to take on the Congress on corruption charges and construction of big dams on the Brahmaputra and its tributaries. About his letter to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi demanding big dams in Assam, he says, "We wanted multi-purpose small dams for flood control, irrigation and electricity. They are constructing dams only for generating electricity. Big dams cause havoc during earthquakes."

He does not talk about illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh, an issue which was the core of the Assam agitation. "As a chief minister, I could do little, as deportation of these foreigners needed the co-operation of Bangladesh. Only the Central Government can solve this," he says.

The allegation of his involvement in the Secret Killings still haunts him. "Three inquiry commissions that probed the Secret Killings did not find any evidence against me," he claims. Still, many in his own party don't want him as the next chief minister. "He is vindictive and those who had supported his ouster from the party are afraid that he will settle old scores," says a party leader. Sarbananda Sonowal, who had played a major role in Mahanta's expulsion from the agp has alread left to join the BJP.

Journalists don't have fond memories either, as many of them were jailed during his second term. "He used the state machinery to silence the voice of dissent," says a senior journalist. Mahanta doesn't agree. "I don't mind criticism. I have collected all newspaper cartoons of me and will publish them as a book someday," he says. He says he enjoys the jokes portraying him as a dumb head. "Some of them are really good," he says.

There may be charges of an extra-marital affair, but Mahanta swears by his commitment to his family. "Whatever free time I get, I spend with my family. My daughter complains that I did not give her enough time when I was the chief minister. Now I try to compensate," he says. He always wears white because it helps him stay calm and pure.

He will certainly need to stay calm in this electoral battle. The party faces severe fund crunch, dissidence over tickets and, unlike in the past, he is not the official chief ministerial candidate. But giving him company in the biggest battle of his career is an English book, Living With The Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama.