Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora new Assam Congress chief

NEW DELHI: Seeking to set its house in order in Assam in the wake of the poll debacle, senior leader Ripun Bora was today appointed the state party president in place of Anjan Dutta who died sometime back after a brief illness.

Bora, a member of the Rajya Sabha, has been brought at the helm of the party when it has lost power after 15 long years at the hands of a resurgent BJP.

Party chief Sonia Gandhi made the appointment, AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.

A former bureaucrat, Bora hails from Sonitpur district in North Assam and is a known close associate of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

Eight years ago, Gogoi had sacked Bora as Education Minister from his ministry following his arrest by CBI in a bribery case. He was one of the accused in a murder case which CBI was probing. He was later discharged by a Guwahati court from the murder charges.