Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday said that he would have been happy if Jahnabi Goswami, the state's first AIDS patient to go public, had been given a party ticket from Baharampur, but several factors had to be taken into consideration while allotting seats.
Gogoi told reporters in Guwahati that the chances of Chitralata Phukan, who was given the Congress ticket for Baharampur, of winning the seat were more than that of Goswami and this was the main reason why she was denied the ticket.
"Many people have hopes of contesting the election, but it is not possible to fulfil everybody's hopes and aspirations. The prospects of the candidates are the main criteria that are taken into consideration by the Congress screening committee while allotting tickets," he said.
Meanwhile, Goswami alleged that the Congress was "ashamed of the fact that I am a HIV-positive carrier and deprived me of the ticket".
"Congress has humiliated me by not giving the ticket and proved that in politics too an AIDS victim does not get her due share," she said.
Goswami said she had hoped that a leader like Congress President Sonia Gandhi would have taken the positive decision to field her but "I have been disappointed and humiliated".
{{/usCountry}}Goswami said she had hoped that a leader like Congress President Sonia Gandhi would have taken the positive decision to field her but "I have been disappointed and humiliated".
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