The BJP must come with an honorable proposal, says Prafulla Mahanta.
Former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has said his party, the Asom Gana Parishad or AGP, is open to an alliance with the BJP if an "honorable offer" is made.
"If the BJP feels they are going to form the government, they must come with an honorable proposal," he told NDTV.
The 63-year-old leader, who was once the face of the anti-foreigners' movement in early 1980s, has ruled out the possibility of being part of any grand alliance with the Congress, its traditional rival. "Our assessment is that we will not be able to form the government, but will play an important role in government formation."
The AGP has lost its popular appeal over the years and Badruddin Ajmal's All India United Democratic Front or AIUDF became the principal Opposition party in Assam in 2011.
But AGP still has its pockets of strength. In the 2011 assembly polls, the party managed to win 10 of the state's 126 seats. But in 46 constituencies, it managed to secure between 20,000 and 40,000 votes that were essentially against the Congress.
That's precisely why the Congress - facing its toughest election in the past 15 years -- wants the AGP to contest independently. A split in the anti-Congress vote between the BJP and the AGP will only help the Congress.
Aware of the potential damage AGP can do if it contests independently, the BJP is talking of a pre-poll alliance. But the sticking point is the number of seats offered.
The BJP doesn't want to offer more than 20 seats. But AGP, in Mr Mahanta's words, wants an honorable offer for its leaders to sit and discuss.
Asked if a pre-poll alliance with BJP is possible at this stage, Mr Mahanta said, "the door is open".
Mr Mahanta's one time colleague and Union sports minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, who now heads the BJP in Assam, has only this to say: "Minus the Congress, minus Ajmal, we are talking to everyone."