Rebellion brews as Gogoi man appointed Assam Cong chief

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 13

Signs of a rebellion surfaced in the Assam Congress today soon after party chief Sonia Gandhi ignored a senior state rebel leader to name a man close to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi as the new chief of Assam Congress.

Former minister Anjan Dutta, a sitting legislator from Amguri, today replaced Bhubaneshwar Kalita as the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president. Dutta is considered close to Gogoi who has been facing a silent rebellion from the Congress camp led by Himanta Biswa Sarma, former health minister of Assam and a local strongman with financial muscle.

Sarma’s claim to the post was ignored by Congress leadership today with reports that party vice-president Rahul Gandhi is against elevating him. Rahul is cross with Sarma who is said to have worked against Gogoi and party interests in the state in the May Lok Sabha elections. Even after the elections, Sarma had mounted a massive rebellion against Gogoi seeking to replace him as CM but had failed.

Sources in the Assam Congress said the Sarma camp had begun informal meetings to decide on the next course of action and might reignite the flame of rebellion.

“There is a possibility of Sarma leading a split. The Assam Assembly session is starting tomorrow and it would be worthwhile to watch the moves of the rebel camp. There would be no surprises if Sarma quit the party and took legislators with him. At least 23 in 78 Congress MLAs are with him,” said a source.

Anjan Dutta, a media baron like Biswa Sarma, was recently quizzed by the CBI in the Saradha scam for links with Saradha kingpin Sudipta Sen. No evidence was found against him. Dutta runs a media group called Dainik Batori Kakot in Assam and has the backing of Congress general secretary in charge of Assam CP Joshi.

Leaders said with the latest appointment, three top positions in Assam Congress are in the hands of leaders from Upper Assam — state CM, state Assembly Speaker and state Congress president.