GUWAHATI:In Congress-ruled Assam, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s troubles are far from over. Last year, he had managed to stave off a threat to his chair with the blessings of party leadership. The threat this time around to his four-and-a-half-year-old government is from a section of rebel Congress legislators who want to join the resurgent BJP that has made giant strides in the state in recent years. To keep his flock together, Gogoi is giving them some “responsibility”.
Last week, he appointed 13 party MLAs—including some who had raised the banner of revolt seeking his ouster—as parliamentary secretaries. The development came within days after a group of nine Congress legislators had met BJP national president Amit Shah and expressed the desire to join the saffron party.
After their revolt against Gogoi, the MLAs were virtually sidelined. Four of them were suspended from the Congress, which served a show-cause notice on five others for “anti-party activities”. Some of the MLAs had accompanied former minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on his return journey from Delhi on August 28, the day he joined the BJP in Guwahati, while others had received him at the airport
After meeting Shah, the Congress rebels said they would soon formally join the BJP. That has not happened as yet, ostensibly due to opposition from a section of BJP leaders in the state. If they do join the BJP, it will bring down the Congress’ strength to 68, four more than the required number of 64, in a House of 126 members.
Sarma, who once brought 52 of the 78 Congress legislators to his side during the height of dissidence against Gogoi last year, claimed that over 500 Congressmen would join the BJP in the coming days. With Assembly elections due early next year, Gogoi is worried about numbers, and hence sought to fend off the possible defection of more MLAs to the BJP by appointing 13 of them as parliamentary secretaries. “Gogoi had made a commitment to some disgruntled MLAs, which he fulfilled by appointing them as parliamentary secretaries. One must not read too much into it,” said Congress spokesperson Apurba Bhattacharya.
The MLAs entrusted with fresh responsibilities include Rumee Nath, who was arrested in April for her alleged nexus with the kingpin of a pan-India gang of car-lifters. Congress sources say that Gogoi will also expand his ministry. One of the MLAs to be inducted is Siddique Ahmed, who was dropped as border area development and cooperation minister (independent charge) on July 23, 2014, for his public criticism of Gogoi. He was among the dissidents when they made the abortive bid to unseat Gogoi.
The Congress, which has been in power in the state since 2001 under Gogoi, was literally invincible until a couple of years back. The party had not lost a single election till 2014. Blame it on infighting that the Congress had the worst ever results during the last Parliamentary elections in which the party managed to win just three—down from seven in 2009—of the 14 seats as against the BJP’s seven. The BJP gained significantly from the infighting within the Congress, but over the past few years, it has had a stunning growth in constituencies that were Congress strongholds.
The growth of Lok Sabha member Maulana Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front, has also been phenomenal. It emerged as the principal opposition party after the 2011 Assembly elections. The party won three seats, two more than its 2009 tally of one, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.