Bhupen Borah resigns as President of United Opposition Forum

way2barak, Oct 23: Tension has mounted in the opposition camp in Assam as Congress leader Bhupen Borah resigned as the President of United Opposition Forum following differences in fielding a candidate from Behali Assembly seat where by-elections are due in the next month.

Borah, who is also Assam Congress president, shot a letter to the forum tendering resignation on Wednesday.

Internal conflicts arose when several Congress leaders indicated interest in running for the Behali Assembly seat themselves, despite Borah’s advocacy of leaving it for their ally, the CPIM (L).

In a letter to the General Secretary of the Assam Sonmilita Morcha (ASOM), Borah clarified that a proposal to form a five-member committee to choose the Behali nominee was discussed at a meeting on October 18 in Guwahati that was attended by prominent Congress figures, including the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and the Secretary in charge of Assam, Jitendra Singh Alwar.

Borah backed this coalition manoeuvre because the CPIM (L) had claimed the seat.

The Congress leader mentioned that the AICC had rejected the committee’s recommendation.

He stated, “I have been trying to persuade the 5-member committee to re-consider its recommendation, but they have refused to do so and are demanding immediate confirmation from AICC.”

“Under the tremendous pressure on me to make the decision enforced, which I am not able to execute, I have no alternative other than tendering my resignation as President of the opposition unity in Assam,” Borah said in the letter.

The state Congress chief also asserted that opposition unity was stressed by Rahul Gandhi during his Yatra in Assam and at the Northeast Congress Coordination Committee meeting at Meghalaya earlier this year.

Bypolls in five Assembly constituencies — Dholai, Samaguri, Behali, Bongaigaon and Sidli — are being held following the elections of five legislators in the Lok Sabha.

The BJP has declared its nominee for Behali, Dholai and Samaguri leaving two seats for its two allies — Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL).