Guwahati: There is seemingly no end to implosions in Congress’s Assam unit, with senior MLAs Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha and Basanta Das voicing support to the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week.
Since the 2021 Assam election, six out of 29 Congress MLAs have rebelled against the party, which has looked the other way, instead of taking any action.
Days after Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam, Purkayastha and Das extended their support to the BJP Wednesday, without resigning from the party. The two legislators announced their support to CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and PM Modi for “development initiatives”.
While Purkayastha and Das were served showcause notices Thursday, they remain in the party as no action has been taken against them. Earlier in 2022, Congress legislators Siddique Ahmed and Sashikanta Das had extended support to the government. They had disobeyed the party whip during the Rajya Sabha polls in March, and currently remain suspended. The Congress is now left with 24 MLAs in the Northeast state.
In 2021, four-time MLA from Mariani, Rupjyoti Kurmi, and Thowra MLA Sushanta Borgohain resigned from the assembly and successfully contested bypolls.
Addressing the media Wednesday, CM Sarma welcomed the two MLAs saying it will create a positive environment in the assembly. It is a “trend” that should be emulated in other states, he added.
“Assam will become a state where all MLAs will support the state and central governments. They are in opposition only under certain compulsions, not from the mind and heart. Now, people are breaking that compulsion and coming closer to us,” he said.
Amid slogan of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, Purkayastha and Das greeted the CM with ‘gamusa’ (a cultural symbol of Assam). Das, a former state minister, was seen taking the blessings of Sarma by touching his feet.
Later, Purkayastha resigned from the post of Congress working president. “We have seen the CM’s vision of development and would support the government in this aspect. Personally, Basanta Das and I will remain Congress MLAs,” the three-time MLA from Karimganj North told the media in Dispur.
On Wednesday, Sarma mentioned that six to seven Congress MLAs met him recently. A day later in Jorhat, he exuded confidence that “all Congress leaders would join BJP.”
“It is difficult to accommodate all, but every year, I am trying to create vacancies to take them in. Why do we need an opposition? In a democracy, if the government is performing well, what’s the need for an opposition? The question of opposition will arise if the government is doing something wrong,” he said.
Sarma further said the legislators are miffed that the Congress allegedly does not allow them to attend government functions and meet ministers. He contended how development would take place in the constituencies if the MLAs couldn’t highlight their problems.
Political analyst Adip Kumar Phukan found fault in the strategy adopted by Congress state president Bhupen Borah.
“The Congress does not have a political or winning strategy at this point in time. All MLAs, irrespective of parties, are a part of the government. Everyone has a responsibility towards the government. The strategy of Bhupen Borah to not allow the Congress MLAs to meet the CM and attend government functions is not correct,” Phukan told ThePrint.
Meanwhile, Borah Wednesday told the media that exits were “a part of politics”. “The Congress party in Assam is on the path of becoming ‘Himanta-free’, and I have sent the video footage of the two Congress leaders to the AICC leadership,” he said.
Sarma commented that the four MLAs had not done any “anti-national activities”. “They are merely extending support to the government and would laud our work in the assembly,” he said.
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‘Only hardcore Congress workers will remain’
According to Phukan, Sarma is instrumental in deciding the outcome of candidates who are not sure of their political careers or might find themselves embroiled in cases.
“The hardcore and committed Congress workers will remain the party. Whether the rest of them will stay depends on the strategies of Sarma. If they can’t work in their constituencies in future, they might have to think differently,” he said.
“I doubt whether Congress state president Bhupen Borah will be able to keep those MLAs who face cases. They might surrender to the strategies of the government to protect their political careers. This is happening in every other state and also in Assam.”
At the same time, Phukan felt that leaders like Purkayastha and Das should be ousted, failing which a wrong message would be conveyed about the party leadership.
“Congress immediately needs some new faces and hardcore leaders. It has to have that zeal to emerge as a strong opposition, or increase seats. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the party to keep its house in order. With a background of 25 years in Congress, Sarma knows the party inside out. He is at an advantage compared to other CMs and BJP leaders,” he asserted.
An ex-confidant of former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Sarma joined the BJP in 2015 — a year before the state polls — after he found himself increasingly sidelined with the entry of the Congress veteran’s son Gaurav Gogoi in Assam politics. The next year, the BJP coalition came to power by clinching 86 seats in the 126-member Assam assembly.
Meanwhile, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) president Badruddin Ajmal criticised Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, recalling the Congress government’s “betrayal” of the Muslims in Assam.
“All of the Congress leaders will shift allegiance. We have been witnessing it for years. Congress hasn’t understood yet that by sinking the AIUDF ship, they have sunk to disaster. The Nyay yatra hasn’t delivered any justice — rather they have reduced the Muslim community to being beggars — by bringing about the NRC, classifying people as Doubtful Voters and sending them to detention camps,” Ajmal said.
The AIUDF chief, too, lost Bhabanipur MLA Phani Talukdar to the BJP after he resigned from the party and joined the ruling side in September 2021.
(Edited by Tony Rai)