United opposition forum names new president after exit of Assam Cong chief

Gangtok, Oct 25
A day after the Assam Congress Chief Bhupen Borah resigned from the post of president of the united opposition bloc in the state - the Asom Sonmilito Morcha (ASOM) appointed a new president on Thursday.

In addition, the Asom Sonmilito Morcha (ASOM) decided to proceed without the Congress party in the fight against the BJP.
Following an opposition bloc emergency meeting, ASOM general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi told reporters here, “It has been decided that Rajya Sabha MP and Anchalik Gana Morcha chief Ajit Kumar Bhuyan will be the president of ASOM.” Moreover, he announced the appointment of Suprakash Talukdar and Jones Ingti Kathar as acting presidents.

Without the Congress party at its side, Lurinjyoti Gogoi reaffirmed that the opposition alliance will remain a formidable force and that it will keep up its battle against the BJP and its allies.

Gogoi alleged that the Congress betrayed the alliance by declaring its candidate for the Behali assembly constituency, which it had initially decided to leave for the CPI (ML).

Tension mounted in the opposition camp in Assam ahead of the polls. Congress leader Bhupen Borah resigned from the post of president of the United Opposition Forum following the difference in fielding a candidate in the Behali Assembly seat, where by-elections are due in the next month.

Borah, also state president of the Congress party in Assam, shot a letter to the forum tendering resignation on Wednesday. Internal conflicts arose when several Congress leaders indicated interest in running for the Behali Assembly seat themselves, despite Borah's advocacy of leaving it for their ally, the CPI (ML).

“Under the tremendous pressure on me to make the decision enforced, which I am not able to execute, I have no alternative other than tendering my resignation as President of the opposition unity in Assam,” Borah said in the letter.

The state Congress chief also asserted that opposition unity was stressed by Rahul Gandhi during his Yatra in Assam and at the Northeast Congress Coordination Committee meeting at Meghalaya earlier this year.

By-elections in five assembly constituencies - Dholai, Samaguri, Behali, Bongaigaon, and Sidli became due following the elections of five legislators in the lower house of the parliament in this year’s Lok Sabha polls.

Congress named Jayanta Borah as the party’s nominee to contest elections in the Behali assembly seat. He switched sides from the BJP and joined the Congress party recently