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Post the electoral drubbing in recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, the Congress' party in Assam is in tatters as dissident activities has taken the centre-stage. The dissident camp, which had put up a semblance of united fight in the polls, is back at pulling the plug on Tarun Gogoi government.
Today a high-voltage threat drama was staged by the dissident camp, under the leadership of Assam's health and education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, where Sarma threatened to meet the Governor at 5pm if Gogoi did not call any of the three listed senior members from the dissident camp. Later, bowing down to the threat, Gogoi telephoned Sarat Barkotoky of dissident camp and the dissident camp "postponed" its meeting with the Governor, where it was expected to declare its lack of confidence on the Gogoi government."We don't have any trust on Tarun Gogoi. We will accept any person who Sonia Gandhi nominates as chief minister," said Sarma.
Gogoi had gone to New Delhi recently and yesterday submitted his resignation as chief minister of Assam to Sonia Gandhi. Soon after the meeting the Gogoi camp came out in media and said the resignation was rejected by Gandhi. However, later senior Congress leader CP Joshi clarified that the resignation was neither accepted nor rejected and that the 'high command' had decided to send an observer who would take stock of the situation after talking to all the MLAs.
"How dare Gogoi misled the people of Assam by saying his resignation was rejected by Sonia Gandhi? Congress gave him everything. The party made him MLA, MP, CM and made his son too an MP in this election. The onus to save the congress party now rests on Tarun Gogoi. He should shed his arrogance to the sake of the party," said Sarma. He claimed 45 MLAs of the party were on his side. The Congress party has 78 MLAs in the 126-member Assam assembly.
However, post Gogoi's phone call, Sarma said the MLAs from the dissident camp would speak their minds before Motilal Vohra, the appointed observer, and after that whatever Sonia Gandhi decides on leadership, the dissident camp would abide by it.
Gogoi, who was very dismissive of any 'Modi wave' in Assam prior to the election, was too confident that the party, under his leadership, would manage to win 10 out of the 14 seats in Assam, and in the worst scenario would at least get seven seats, the last Lok Sabha election's figure for Congress in the state. In an over-confident move, he announced that he would quit chief-ministership if the party got anything below seven seats.
