Congress MLAs meet AICC general secretary for leadership modifications

Guwahati: Nine Congress MLAs from Assam met AICC general secretary and Assam in-charge Jitendra Singh in New Delhi, seeking the high command's approval for leadership modifications in the state.The congregation occurred on Friday evening amidst speculation that various seasoned and emerging Congress leaders, including legislators, desire the AICC to supersede the incumbent Assam PCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah and install deputy leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi in his post.Congress sources, however, clarified that deliberations regarding Bhupen Kumar Borah's replacement were neither scheduled nor discussed during the meeting. The primary focus centred on implementing alterations to the party's leadership positions by designating the most senior Congress MLA Wazed Ali Choudhury as the deputy leader, they added.A senior Congress MLA said that following Rakibul Hussain's election to Lok Sabha from Dhubri constituency, the party opted to nominate Choudhury for the deputy leader's position, subordinate to party leader Debabrata Saikia, who simultaneously serves as Opposition leader.Authorisation has been requested to appoint Misbahul Islam Laskar as chief whip, succeeding Wazed Ali Choudhury. Additionally, the party resolved to designate Diganta Barman as deputy chief whip and AK Rasheed Alam as party secretary.Diganta Barman is poised to assume the deputy chief whip position, previously held by Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha. Kamalakhya faced suspension from Congress last year after declaring "support to the govt" alongside Congress legislator Basanta Das whilst maintaining party membership.The previous secretary, Rupjyoti Kurmi, joined BJP in 2021 post-assembly elections victory and currently serves as a BJP MLA.A senior Congress representative emphasised that while the party has determined these positional changes, the party's high command retains final announcement authority, per Congress protocol. "The party maintains active engagement as assembly elections approach, particularly regarding these vacant positions," a Congress leader said.