The AGP on Tuesday formed a 16-member committee to hold discussions and firm up the party’s strategy for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls in the state.

The committee, led by AGP president Atul Bora, was constituted at the executive meeting of the party held here.

The other members of the committee are Keshab Mahanta, Phani Bhusan Choudhury, Utpal Dutta, Nurul Hussain, Renupama Rajkhowa, Gunindra Nath Das, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, Ramendra Narayan Kalita, Birendra Prasad Baishya, Bhupen Rai, Bhabendra Nath Bharali, Naren Sonowal, Brindaban Goswami, Pradip Hazarika, Kamala Kanta Kalita, Pabindra Deka and Satyabrat Kalita.

The AGP when forged alliance with the BJP for the Lok Sahba polls had sought one Rajya Sabha seat for its candidate and the BJP had reportedly conceded to its demand.

Assam BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass, however, recently said he was not aware of any such agreement with the AGP.

Two Rajya Sabha seats, being held by Congress member Santiuse Kujur and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will fall vacant in Assam next month.

Moreover, two other Rajya Sabha members of the state — Bhubaneswar Kalita and Sanjay Singh of the Congress — are contesting the Lok Sabha elections and if they win, the number vacant seats would be four.

There are also speculations that the BJP may nominate Lok Janshakti Party leader Ramvilas Paswan, an ally of the party, and Ramen Deka from Assam and if this happens, the nomination of the AGP candidate will become uncertain.

According to an AGP source, the regional party is likely to field Birendra Prasad Baishya for the Rajya Sabha elections.

The AGP meeting on Tuesday decided to constitute a committee to take a decision on amending the party constitution to strengthen from the grassroots. The meeting also expressed concern over certain forces allegedly trying to derail the ongoing NRC update in the state and decided that a delegation of the party will meet the NRC state co-ordinator Prateek Hajela to discuss the matter.