Guwahati: On the realisation that they will be denied party tickets for the Lok Sabha election, two sitting BJP MPs of Assam, including the lone representative from the state in the Union ministry, have pulled out of the race and a third MP has resigned from the party.
Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain on Saturday announced that he would not contest due to a sexual harassment case against him, while another sitting MP Kamakhya Prasad Tassa had on Friday said that he was ‘too tired’ to contest again.
On the other hand, another MP, RP Sharma, on Saturday resigned from primary membership of the party after it became clear that he will not get party candidature.
Gohain, who is a four-time BJP MP from Nagaon, told reporters, “I have decided not to contest the Lok Sabha election this time. There is a case of sexual harassment against me and I don’t want to contest until I am absolved completely.”
“The court has granted a stay in the case, but I want to clear my name first and then join the electoral field,” he said.
The senior BJP leader further said that he had no complains against the party leadership as he had been given party candidature for four times and also completed his full tenure as the Union Minister of State.
Gohain has been slapped with a case of sexual harassment by a married woman of his constituency, with the minister maintaining complete innocent in the case.
Another MP, Tassa from Jorhat constituency told reporters on Friday that he is not interested in contesting the election this time.
“I have done so much for the constituency but it’s so difficult to make the people see it. I am getting tired of all this and if party doesn’t insist, I will not contest,” he said.
Tassa’s name has been included in the panel of candidates for Jorhat,but party sources claimed his chances of getting the ticket are slim.
Meanwhile, in the first public show of discontentment towards the ruling BJP over party candidature, sitting Tezpur MP and senior party leader RP Sharma resigned from the party as his name didn’t figure in the panel for the seat.
Sharma announced his decision to quit from the primary membership of the party through a Facebook post.
“Resigning from the primary membership of the BJP right now after serving the RSS/VHP for 15 years and the BJP for 29 years. I felt greatly insulted when my name, a sitting MP and the President of Assam Gorkha Sammelan,did not find place in panel sent up by the state BJP committee,” he wrote.
The first-time MP, Sharma was not included in the panel of names submitted by state BJP leadership to central leaders.
Influential state Cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sharma has been included in the panel and is likely to be the party candidate from Tezpur.
Assam will go to polls in three phases on April 11, 18 and 23.
The BJP had won seven seats out of 14 in Assam in 2014 General Elections and also went on to lead an alliance to form the state government in the 2016 Assembly polls, with BJP alone bagging 61 seats out of 126 seats. (UNI)
