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Guwahati: The much-awaited meeting in Delhi on Saturday night between the AIUDF leadership and the Congress high command over Rajya Sabha candidature from Assam remained “inconclusive”.
The bargaining for one Rajya Sabha seat, which the opposition is eyeing from the state, reached the AICC as AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal wanted to sort out the issue only with the AICC and not with the state PCC. Congress sources said the party is adamant on projecting their own candidate for one of the two RS seats from Assam. Elections to the seats will be held on March 31.
“The AIUDF could be given a chance to pick one from the probable Congress candidates of their choice. But the Congress high command is unlikely to disappoint the state PCC, which finally sent names of five Congress leaders for consideration,” said a Congress insider.
Besides the outgoing RS MPs, Ripun Bora and Ranee Narah, two other leaders of the Assam Congress, Dwijen Sarma and Bobbeeta Sharma’s names have also been forwarded to the AICC by the Assam PCC. The fifth probable candidate of the Congress is Arun Dutta Mazumdar from Barak Valley.
“The Congress will field its candidate. With the AIUDF’s help, none of the primary members of the Congress ever won any RS election. Their claim is false. For the first time, the Congress has sought the AIUDF’s help for the victory of its own candidate. Last time also, AIUDF MLAs voted for Ajit Kumar Bhuyan in RS election, whom we backed. But Bhuyan was not a primary member of our party,” Assam PCC president Bhupen Borah told TOI on Sunday. He was hopeful that the AICC will approve a Congress candidate’s name in three days.
Even as CM Himanta Biswa Sarma seems to be certain of the victory of the BJP and its allies in both the RS seats, Borah said opposition parties clearly have the numbers to win in one seat.
“The chief minister himself said they are still one short of the 42 MLAs needed to ensure victory in both the RS seats. But the Congress has 44 MLAs, which is sufficient to win one seat,” said Borah.
“How can the CM be so confident of victory when the BJP and its allies don’t have the numbers in the assembly? Do they have other plans of rigging or horse-trading?” Borah asked. He claimed that the opposition will get the votes of 44 MLAs, including that of Sherman Ali Ahmed and Sashikanta Das, who were suspended from the party. “Even the suspended MLAs are bound to follow the party whip,” he said.



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