Despite new leadership, Assam Cong ‘might lose’ another legislator

From Our Correspondent 

GUWAHATI:

The Assam Congress might have seen a change in leadership of late, but the ‘grand old’ party is in “danger” of losing one more legislator with speculations rife about two-time MLA from Thowra constituency, Sushanta Borgohain “likely to step down from his post and party, and join the ruling BJP in the coming days.”

Even as Borgohain has not revealed anything before the media in this regard, unconfirmed reports here state that the Congress MLA could resign from his post anytime during the first half of August.

Borgohain had defeated BJP candidate Kushal Duwari in the Assembly election earlier this year to bag the Thowra seat for the second time.

Congress currently has 28 MLAs in the Assam Legislative Assembly.

Last month, four-time Mariani MLA, Rupjyoti Kurmi tendered his resignation letter to Assam Assembly Speaker and quit the party to join the ruling party. The development came as a big blow to the “beleaguered” Congress which has already been defeated in the Assembly polls.

More so because Kurmi was the lone representative of the tea garden community in the state Congress amid the declining authority of the party in Upper Assam, once a strong bastion.

Kurmi had alleged that young leaders had no place in the party, a factor that might have prompted the All India Congress party to appoint two relatively younger MLAs, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha and Jakir Hussain Sikdar as working presidents in the state Congress committee.
Newly appointed Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president, Bhupen Kumar Borah, however, hoped that the Thowra MLA would not quit the party. 

“I believe that Sushanta, with whom I share a close relationship, will not leave the party,” Borah said.

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