Assam Rajya Sabha polls: Miffed Biswajit Daimary threatens Congress of pull out

GUWAHATI Congress’ Assam partner, Bodoland Peoples' Front’s Biswajit Daimary, has threatened to withdraw from the Rajya Sabha polls unless he is made the alliance’s second candidate for the elections.

With Opposition parties jointly putting up a candidate, the election of the ruling coalition’s third candidate is uncertain.

Congress had fielded PCC president Bhubneswar Kalita and Sultanpur MP Sanjay Singh as the coalition’s first and second candidates. BPF is an ally since 2001 and has stood by Congress in troubled times. Sanjay Singh, on the other hand, has been accommodated following AICC’s diktat to ensure that he would not crossover to BJP and possibly threaten the reelection of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi tried to pacify Daimary and he later told ET, “The chief minister has assured that I will be the second candidate.” In the 126-member assembly, Congress has 79 MLAs and BPF 12. 32 votes are needed to elect a candidate and the ruling coalition’s third candidate is assured of only 30 votes, even after adding the votes of an Independent and two associate members.

However, the Opposition had put up a joint candidate, journalist Haider Hussain. The combined strength of Asom Gana Parishad, AIUDF and BJP is 32 MLAs, with one MLA belonging to AIUDF out on Haj pilgrimage. The combine thus has requisite votes to elect its candidate, unless there is cross voting. Cross-voting is not uncommon in RS polls and has produced surprising results in other states.