Assam Congress says it suffered due to alliances, to go alone in by-polls

Last month, the Assam Congress decided to sever ties with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), a partner in the assembly polls earlier this year. The party had won 16 seats

Published on: Sep 21, 2021, 08:31:09 IST

By Utpal Parashar

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The Congress party said on Monday it will fight the upcoming assembly by-polls in Assam on its own since it has suffered due to alliances in the past.

Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah said the party has to be realistic about its chances in the coming assembly by-polls. (Courtesy-Twitter)

“We’ve suffered due to alliances. Local leaders have been disheartened due to losses sustained in the last assembly polls. We want to strengthen our roots and contest the coming by-polls alone,” Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah said during an interaction with senior journalists in Guwahati.

Congress had formed a ‘mahajot’ (grand alliance) of 10 parties for assembly polls held earlier this year to counter the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies. It managed to win 29 seats while the grand alliance bagged 50 of the total 126 seats. The BJP and its allies returned to power with 75 seats.

Last month, Congress decided to sever ties with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), a partner in the ‘mahajot’ which had won 16 seats.

By-elections to six assembly seats are expected to take place in coming weeks. Two seats were left vacant after the deaths of lawmakers, one each from Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) and United Peoples Party Liberal (UPPL) due to Covid-19. Three other seats fell vacant after two Congress and one AIUDF MLA shifted to the BJP. The sixth seat is likely to be vacated by former chief minister and Majuli MLA Sarbananda Sonowal, who joined the Union cabinet earlier this year.

Sonowal is expected to win Assam’s vacant Rajya Sabha seat without contest since opposition parties, including the Congress, haven’t decided on fielding any candidate yet for the October 4 poll.

Borah said on Monday that the Congress is still undecided whether it will contest all the six seats where by-polls will be held.Notification for the by-polls to the assembly seats is yet to be released.

“We need to be realistic. We lost the Majuli seat by over 48,000 votes in the assembly polls. Hence, it might not be reasonable to contest from there. We will definitely contest four of the six seats. Applications have been invited from prospective candidates and the deadline for it is September 27,” he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Utpal Parashar
A seasoned senior journalist, I have nearly three decades of experience across print, digital, and online platforms, covering political transitions, insurgencies, environmental issues, and development stories in India and Nepal. I am skilled in breaking news, leading editorial teams and launch of newspaper editions. I am adept at leveraging digital trends and social media to expand global reach, with a strong ethical foundation and a reputation for impactful journalism. An alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, I joined Hindustan Times in New Delhi as a trainee reporter in May 1997. Over the years, I have been posted in Dehradun, Kathmandu (Nepal) and Guwahati. Currently, as Senior Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times, I lead a team reporting on India’s northeastern states. My work involves in-depth analysis, and engaging multimedia storytelling across formats, including text, photo, video, and interactive content. I am skilled in producing timely, shareable content, leveraging digital platforms and social media to engage global audiences. Throughout my career with the Hindustan Times, I have led diverse editorial teams, designed capacity-building activities, and supported reporters in developing strong story ideas, ethical reporting practices, digital skills, and fact-checking techniques. As Senior Assistant Editor for Northeast India, I have been responsible for guiding correspondents through complex political, humanitarian, and community-level stories using multimedia formats. Earlier, as Foreign Correspondent in Nepal, I produced extensive reporting during Nepal’s democratic transition and the 2015 earthquake and its aftermath.Read More

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