Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today met senior Congress MLAs to start the process of selecting a new set of ministers following the exit of three dissidents from his team.
According to Congress sources, Gogoi met many senior MLAs including Sarat Borkataky, who was with the dissidents, at his official residence this evening.
"There is possibility that existing portfolios will also be reshuffled. To arrive at an amicable solution regarding berth allocation, Gogoi called this meeting with senior MLAs," a source in the Congress said.
Apart from Borkataky, some other senior MLAs who attended the meeting were former minister Bhumidhar Barman, Bidya Sing Engleng, Sukur Ali Ahmed, Bhupen Kumar Borah, Abdul Muhib Mazumdar and Girindra Mallik.
Before the meeting, Gogoi met Governor Janaki Ballabh Patnaik at the Raj Bhawan.
"This was just a courtesy call. Neither ministry issue nor dissidence was discussed during the meeting with the Governor," Gogoi's Press Advisor Bharat Narah told PTI.
Earlier during the day, Gogoi had temporarily reallocated portfolios to four existing ministers after dropping two dissident ministers yesterday following the resignation of Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday.
Gogoi dropped Border Affairs and Cooperation Minister Siddeque Ahmed and Irrigation and Soil Conservation Minister Ardhendu Dey last evening after they accompanied Sarma to the Raj Bhawan for submitting his resignation.
The Governor approved the additional allocation of portfolios to the ministers after accepting Sarma's resignation and the move to drop Ahmed and Dey.
