Assam Congress chief expresses discontent over candidate selection in assembly polls | India News indiatimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from indiatimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Congress on Thursday elected Debabrata Saikia as leader of the opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly and leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) for the second time. Three-time Nazira MLA Saikia was unanimously elected as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party, said Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora in a list submitted to the Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly on Thursday. Samaguri MLA Rakibul Hussain has been chosen as the deputy leader of the party, while Wajed Ali Choudhury has been selected as the Chief Whip of the party. Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha has been inducted as the deputy chief whip of Congress and Mariani MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi has been chosen as the secretary of the Congress Legislature Party.
The Congress on Saturday night released the list of 40 candidates for the first phase of Assembly polls in Assam, fielding PCC chief and sitting Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora from Gohpur constituency but looking beyond several party veterans.
Bora’s nomination was along expected lines because his tenure in the Rajya Sabha is ending next year, party insiders said. His wife had contested the seat twice in the past but lost in 2016.
“This is going to be the most important election of his life personally. Winning the seat and a good showing by the party against a formidable BJP-led alliance could make him a strong contender for the CM’s post. A loss for him and the party could cost him the PCC chief,” one of the party insiders said.
Formal switchover likely during Amit Shah’s visit to the State
The Congress in Assam, said to be rudderless after the death of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, could lose a few of its MLAs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) soon.
There are reports that at least three Congress legislators, one of them expelled for six years for “anti-party activities”, are likely to don saffron when Union Home Minister Amit Shah visits the State towards the end of December.
The speculations were triggered by one of the troika of MLAs, former minister Ajanta Neog’s meeting with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday. Another MLA, Roselina Tirkey, was seen at a BJP function in eastern Assam’s Golaghat district a few days ago.