APCC prez reaches Delhi to meet high command

Guwahati: Assam PCC president Bhupen Borah reached New Delhi on Saturday at the call of the Congress high command as the expulsion of the two Congress MLAs — Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha and Basanta Das — is imminent. However, the Congress may face another jolt soon as one more Congress MLA may join BJP’s ally in the state, AGP.Sources in the Congress said that Borah reached New Delhi in the later half of Saturday.“At the top of the agenda, a decision is most likely to be taken to expel Purkayastha and Das. But the issue of the Congress MLAs and leaders supporting the ruling BJP and AGP will be seriously deliberated upon,” a senior Assam PCC leader told TOI.While reports are doing the rounds that before the Lok Sabha polls, some of the topmost leaders of Congress from Assam may switch over to BJP, at least two MLAs, one suspended from Congress and a sitting one, are in touch with AGP, sources in the party’s regional unit said.In many minority-inhabited areas of the state, especially in the lower Assam and Barak Valley areas, AGP is known to be ‘secular’ and has enjoyed significant support since it was formed in 1985.Extending support to the BJP may result in the defeat of many Congress MLAs in the seats where minorities play the determining role. But they feel that AGP is a safer destination for them to be part of the BJP-led govt and retain their MLA seats.“Those Congressmen who cannot support BJP or AIUDF should strengthen regional force AGP. We will get an atmosphere to live together as Assamese. There will be a scope to feel the pride as Assamese people,” said Abdur Rashid Mandal, Congress MLA from Goalpara West.After delimitation, Goalpara West is now a Scheduled Tribe-reserved assembly constituency from where Mandal won’t be able to contest. But considering the increase in Hindu votes in the two neighbouring assembly segments, Goalpara East and Jaleswar, sources said Congress leaders like Mandal have started supporting AGP. Nevertheless, these two seats in the Goalpara district are under the open category where Bengali-speaking Muslims have been the determining factor in elections.Reports are doing the rounds that suspended Congress MLA Siddeque Ahmed may also join AGP soon as he won’t get a Congress ticket next time. “AGP leaders are in touch with both Mandal and Siddeque,” a party leader said.Leader of opposition and Congress leader Debabrata Saikia admitted that party discipline has “degraded” as some Congress leaders have publicly extended their support to the two ruling parties.“It was told to the Congress leaders earlier that if they have any grievances, they should raise it on the Congress platform first. But such statements (supporting BJP and AGP) have slightly downgraded the party’s discipline,” Saikia said, underlining the need for Assam PCC and AICC to act.
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